Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but Kyra is my idea.

Trafalgar Law leans against the wall just outside of the sub's galley, listening to his magician talk to Jambarl.

"...so I fixed Penguin and then brought you back to life. You don't remember anything from when you were dead, do you? Nobody ever does."

"No," Jambarl rumbles in reply. "I remember heading for Penguin when he collapsed in the forest. The next moment you were sitting over me crying."

"Okay. No stiffness in your neck? It doesn't hurt to swallow or move your head? Anything feel off?"

"No."

"Okay."

They are deep within the sea, having quickly left that last island behind. Law and Kyra had returned to the sub once the Log Pose set at the crack of dawn, and the captain had wasted no time ordering Gable to dive the vessel. He has just come from a shower, damp hair free of his fur cap as it slowly dries in the warm air of the submarine. Having checked on both Penguin and Sachi moments prior, the surgeon has now tracked his other near fatality's whereabouts only to find the man in the middle of an interrogation much like what Law had previously planned to give. His magician is doing his job for him.

Kyra. His magician. The same woman whose decision to go free an ancient monster from its prison caused his crew so much trouble yesterday. Law wonders if Kyra realizes just how close he came to striking her in his fury over the explanation she provided as to why their enemies were able to pass through her shield in a way only he should be able to pull off. That damn Divine is obviously going to be a problem. When will it next decide to tamper with Kyra's powers in a crucial moment? What is stopping it from doing worse? Why exactly has it decided that the Heart Pirates are to be its enemies? The uncertainty of the current situation infuriates the Dark Doctor, as does the fact that there doesn't appear to be a damn thing he can do about it. The feeling of being powerless in any situation is not one Law enjoys.

Jambarl is fine. Law pushes off of the wall and walks away, going towards his infirmary so that he might be alone for a moment more. He needs to think, to figure out what course of action would be in the best interest of his crew. The Divine is not going to simply go away; this fact was made plain to the pirate captain upon meeting the creature in that dream, seeing the near possessive way it had looked at Kyra. Law would bet that the Divine is completely prepared to hound the girl to the ends of the earth in pursuit of whatever it wants from her. It said in the dream that it is as Kyra's slave, but that is obviously bullshit. Were it willing to do anything for her, Law's crew would not have been hurt yesterday because the monster would have heeded Kyra's command to leave them alone. Tampering with Kyra's magic and allowing two of the crew to be injured severly while one of them died is not leaving them alone by any stretch of the imagination. It is apparent to the Surgeon of Death that the Divine is going to do whatever the hell it wants, Kyra's wishes and the Heart Pirates' lives be damned.

But what does it want? Before yesterday Law and his crew had no quarrel with the creature. They are not from Veneficus; their ancestors did not lock the monster away. Kyra's might have, but Law very much doubts that killing the girl is on the Divine's agenda. Human it is not, but male it definitely is - and a male does not look at a female the way it looks at his magician if they intend to kill them. Perhaps that is the solution: maybe this Divine desires Kyra, so it wants to remove anyone who might keep her from it.

Despite the gravity of such a revelation, Law can't keep a grin from his lips. Leave it to Kyra to draw the attention of an ancient shape-shifting monster. She has quite the talent for attracting danger.

"Captain Law?"

The prepubescent voice draws the pirate captain from his musings. Aaron is standing in the doorway, looking rather uncomfortable with his surroundings as his eyes stray over to the glass fronted cabinets behind which Law stores his medical blades. Bepo is not with him.

"What is it?" He does not take pains to speak kindly for the boy; after over a year and a half of traveling aboard his ship Aaron has become accustomed to the dangerous man. The concept that if he does not cause problems, he will be safe from the captain's wrath is one that was stringently impressed upon him within days of his arrival with Kyra. Law finds it somewhat amusing how easily the child has come to interact with not only his men and his bear, but himself as well.

"Is Kyra upset about something? She's in the galley, sittin' at the table, but she won't talk to me. She won't talk to Bepo, either." The boy fidgets for a moment before asking, "Did the monster scare her, too?"

Too?

Law slowly stands from the wheeled chair in which he had plopped upon entering the infirmary, attention now firmly on Aaron. "What do you mean? What monster?"

"The thing from my dreams. It's got fur and scales and a tail, and it can fly. It talks to me when I'm sleeping," Aaron explains as though such an occurrence is completely narutal. "It said it was a friend of Kyra's, but I don't believe it. It's not like Bepo, even though it looks like an animal. I don't like it. It keeps tryin' to get me to talk to it about Kyra. It wants me to make her take us home."

The Divine is contacting Aaron in his dreams, asking questions about Kyra.

Law is not pleased.

"How long has this creature been in your dreams?"

Aaron has to think for a moment before slowly saying, "Remember when Kyra and Jambarl left that one day?"

Shit.

The Dark Doctor crosses to the boy and takes him by the shoulders, squeezing just firmly enough for the pressure to be uncomfortable. "You are not to tell this being anything about Kyra. It is extremely dangerous. Has it attempted to hurt you?"

Aaron shakes his head in the negative, looking scared. "I didn't tell it anything, Captain, I promise! I really didn't! It told me that Kyra was its owner or something and that she's supposed to be with it instead of here and that it'd bring back Mama and Daddy if I helped it but they died so it can't and I-"

"Aaron." Law waits while the kid takes a deep breath to calm himself, tattooed fingers still lightly gripping the thin shoulders. "If you really haven't told the creature anything then you have done nothing wrong. I will speak to Kyra about this. In the meantime, you will not say anything to the monster. Nothing, Aaron. If I am correct about this thing's character, it will not deliver on any promises it might make you. It does not care about you, or your parents. Remember that."

Aaron sniffs, raising slightly watery eyes to meet the surgeon's cool gaze. "Yes, Captain. I won't tell it anything. I don't want it to hurt Kyra, either. You'll protect her, right? That's what she said when I asked her about the scientist. She said you'd take care of her."

I think my captain's got my welfare covered. If I need help, Law will be there. His magician's words echo in his thoughts even as he says, "Yes. I plan to."

He sends the boy to his room before retracing his earlier steps back to the galley. Law strolls in and goes to the table, where Bepo sits next to Kyra trying to engage her in quiet conversation while Jambarl stands off to one side, watching. The girl is being uncooperative, staring off into space while completely ignoring the fluffy pirate's words.

The surgeon sits down in the chair directly opposite her, annoyed when she proceeds to stare through him as well. He moves to snap his fingers before her face - and abruptly stops when he gets a good look at her eyes.

They have rolled back into Kyra's head until only the whites are visible. Narrowing his own eyes, Law takes a moment to study his magician. She is sitting stock-still in the chair, her spine as stiff as can be and her posture unnaturally perfect. Her mouth is close with the lips mashed so tightly together it looks as if they have fused with each other. As he examines her, Kyra suddenly twitches violently as though struck before once more going completely still.

"I told Aaron to go get you, Captain," Bepo tells him quietly, beady black eyes running over the Demon Witch's face with evident concern. "Did he find you?"

Law nods his head once in affirmation, reaching across the table to brush the back of his hand against Kyra's forehead. Her skin is as cold as ice, clammy and covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. "What happened?"

"Jambarl said she just froze up while they were talking. She went quiet in the middle of a sentence and got stiff like she is now. Captain, her scent is really different. I can't figure out what's going on with her." The bear droops dejectedly, rubbing one paw against the chest of his orange diver suit. "I tried to touch her a couple of minutes ago, but her magic slapped me away. What's wrong with her, Captain?"

Law has absolutely no idea. "Jambarl, step out of the room for a few minutes. Tell the others not to come in here until I allow it."

He moves his hand down to Kyra's throat as his massive subordinate exits the galley, setting his fingers lightly against her pulse. It pounds frantically, as though in fear or from a rush of adrenaline. Again Kyra twitches violently, jerking away from his touch even as her lips pull back to snarl fiercely at him.

"You are not worthy to touch the little one."

That is most assuredly not his magician's voice. Law's grip tightens reflexively around the girl's slim neck, fury roaring to the forefront of his mind.

"What have you done to her?" he demands, tone dangerously quiet as he leans as far over the table as possible without literally climbing atop the damn thing.

The Divine smirks at him with Kyra's mouth, her lids falling to half-mast over the whites of her eyes. "I am currently gifting her with pleasure a pathetic mortal like you cannot possibly fathom. I am extending my gratitude for her part in my release. Never fear, human: unlike you and your little band of weaklings, I am more than capable of protecting her. I will never let her come to harm. It is therefore advisable that you remove your foul hand from her throat; I will not hesitate to take your head should she become bruised."

This bastard creature causes injury to his crew; tampers with his magician's powers; possesses her like some kind of ghost out of a horror story, and it has the sheer gall to dare give an order to Trafalgar Law?

Law really wants to track this fucking thing down and kill it. Very, very slowly.

"I do believe my magician -" - and he is sure to put extra emphasis on the possessive pronoun - "- told you to stay away from her. I doubt this qualifies as heeding her demands. Is there a point to your little puppet show?"

"I give you fair warning, human. He who haunts her nightmares is closer than you seem to think. He is a man of formidable power with a keen obsession for the little one. You will need to protect her from him." This last part is delivered with extreme haughtiness, as though the Divine does not think the Surgeon of Death is adequately capable of taking care of his own woman.

"Clearly you don't know her as well as you wish," he drawls in response, purposely directing a condescending smirk towards the monster wearing Kyra like a meat suit. "If Merrick does manage to catch up with us, Kyra will not be appreciative to any interference while she has her fun. Perhaps you should keep that in mind yourself. But then again, who am I to tell such a powerful being what to do? By all means... interfere. My magician will then have the chance to rid herself of two annoyances instead of only one. I'm sure she will be receptive to that idea once I inform her that you have been harassing young Aaron. Not a smart move there, friend. Kyra is rather... protective of the boy, to put it lightly. She will not be pleased to hear that you have bothered him."

Kyra's face sneers at him dismissively. "The boy is of no interest to me. I simply chose to enter his mind rather than one of your subordinates, to save myself from the filth sure to be found in the subconscious of a pathetic human male the likes of which travel aboard this metal contraption. I wished to know more about my little one. The boy has not been harmed."

Law is fast growing tired of hearing that voice come out of his magician's mouth. He tightens his grip on her throat just a bit, leaning an inch closer to her body over the table and spearing the thing inside her with a fierce glare. "Your message has been delivered. I think it's time you gave back what is mine, creature. Get out of my woman."

The Divine then proceeds to calmly reach up and grasp his wrist in Kyra's smooth hand.

Law's arm from hand to elbow joint explodes.

He finds himself on the floor next to the table, one remaining hand clamped down over the stump of his mangled arm in a useless attempt to staunch the blood flow. Bepo is crouching over him protectively, claws extended, body in a kung-fu pose, snarling loud enough that the pirate can feel the vibrations in his bones. From the other side of the table that voice speaks to him, the power in its words suffocating.

"Do not presume to command me, pathetic mortal. None but Kyra may do so. You are not worthy of her soul. You are not worthy of her heart. When the time is right, I shall strip you of the bond between you and free her of your hold. At present you serve a beneficial purpose, so I will allow you to live for the moment. If you should fail in the task I have set before you, I shall take great pleasure in ending your miserable life. Remember that, human."

There is a short pause before Kyra's unconscious form slides out of the chair in which she sits and slumps to the floor in a heap. Bepo immediately ceases his snarls and spins to face his captain, looking absolutely panicked.

"Captain! Your arm! What do you want me to do?"

"Wake her up," is Law's instant reply, hissed out between clenched teeth as the notorious seafarer fights not to pass out from the pain radiating fiercely throughout his entire body. His blood is staining the floor of his galley, seeping through his fingers in a veritable waterfall. And his magician is lying on that same floor, out cold and not moving so much as a muscle.

"But-"

"Now, Bepo!" The order is snapped at the sensitive bear, who flinches back before scurrying around the table to take Kyra by the shoulders and shake her frantically. Law watches through a growing haze as Bepo smacks Kyra lightly on the cheek while telling her that the Captain needs her, wake up Kyra, Captain needs you,what's going on oh shit, what the fuck happened, no don't close your eyes damn you, look at me, look at me, wake up wake up wake up -

"Dammit, Law, open your fucking eyes! Wake up!"

Something is striking him repeatedly in the face. Law jerks upright, immediately biting down hard on his tongue to keep from making a sound as white-hot bolts of pain shoot from his sloppily amputated limb. Snowy paws are quick to press on his shoulders, forcing him to flop onto his back once again as Kyra leans over him. Her face is the color of paper, her cheeks wet with what look like tears. Law grins rather weakly at her as she puts her hands in the air just above the stump that was once his arm.

"Welcome back, my magician. So nice of you to rejoin us. I trust you are none the worse for wear thanks to our little guest." His voice is completely the same as it ever has been, faintly sarcastic with an undertone of teasing. He is very pleased that this is so; it would never do for him to show weakness even in a situation such as this one.

"What the hell are you talking about, you idiot? You're the one who got his fucking arm blown off!" A pleasurable cooling sensation takes hold of Law's mind as what is left of his left arm disappears in an encasing of white. The relief is instantaneous, and the pirate captain allows his body to completely relax as Kyra frets over him while Bepo keeps slight pressure on his shoulders. He grins at his woman once again, this time much more confidently thanks to the removal of the former agonizing pain.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid I hit something of a raw nerve with your newest suitor. Apparently the Divine takes issue with the fact that you are mine. It wasn't so foolhardy as to hurt you as well, correct?" If it did, there will eventually be hell to pay. The only one allowed to cause any pain to his magician and live is Law.

"What? No, I'm fine, aside from a splitting headache," is Kyra's absentminded reply as she takes the pirate captain's newly regrown hand in her own and begins examining it minutely as though it were a precious specimen. "Is the pain gone? Is your lower arm stiff or sore? Did I get the tattoos in the right place?"

His hand is fine. Law uses it to grasp Kyra's trembling fingers so that she will look up at his face. Bepo releases his shoulder. The Dark Doctor sits up and takes his magician's chin in hand, peering into her bloodshot eyes and gauging the state of her pupils. "What did it do to you?"

Kyra instantly flushes maroon from her collarbone to the roots of her hair.

Law is less than pleased by this reaction.

"Um - I don't - it wasn't - it just - kind of -" she stutters out in a brilliant display of her intelligence. She removes her chin from his grasp and scrambles to her feet, dissolving the blood splashed upon the floor with a wave of her fingers. Law watches as she then runs a hand distractedly through her hair, obviously floundering for the proper words with which to explain her experience.

"It just... showed me stuff. Scenarios... and... and possibilities it's hoping for," Kyra finally whispers, face the color of newly-spilt blood, looking and sounding absolutely mortified. All at once the red disappears from her face as she jolts and stares at him. "Oh, shit, it said Merrick's close! It said he should catch up to us in a day or two! Fuck, Law, what do you want to do?"

Law very carefully stands from his place on the floor, Bepo right behind him as the bear hovers anxiously in case he is needed. "Do you wish to engage him?"

"Not out in the open like this," Kyra responds immediately, giving her head an emphatic shake. "It would be better to face him on land, and since we just left an island a few hours ago and there's no telling how close the next one is -"

"I see." The captain turns to address his first mate. "Bepo, go and explain the situation to Gable. Tell the men that we will stay submerged for the foreseeable future. And let them know that the galley is no longer off limits."

Bepo nods reluctantly before disappearing in the direction of the bridge, leaving Law alone with his very concerned magician. She grabs his regenerated hand without a word, running her fingers over every inch of skin in an almost frantic caress. "Are you sure you're okay? You were bleeding all over the place."

"That tends to happen when a limb is amputated if some kind of clamp is not on hand."

Kyra glares at him, obviously not amused by that comment. Law snags her fingers in his own when she moves to pull away from him, preventing her from fleeing.

"Your response to my earlier question was not satisfactory," he informs her in a calm, level tone. "Elaborate."

Kyra adopts a look of one who very much wishes that the floor would open up and devour her. She swallows heavily, the gulp audible in the otherwise silent galley, color once more flooding her cheeks a startling red. Law squeezes her fingers firmly in a wordless prompt to do as ordered. There is a long, uncomfortable pause.

"I... I can't say it," his magician whispers, ducking and turning her head to stare at a patch of floor off to the left. "I can't. I'm sorry, it's just... I can't say the words."

"It said that it was giving you immense pleasure," the ruthless pirate prods, uncaring as to his companion's obvious discomfort. "I'm assuming it referred to pleasure of a sexual nature. What I do not understand is how that was accomplished without the Divine's physical presence. Were you aware that it could possess you like that?"

"No!" Kyra replies immediately, snapping her head back up to him with a disgusted expression. "Are you kidding me? I've never felt so... so... violated in my entire life! I feel like that fucking thing raped me or something! Do you have any idea what it's like for another entity to invade your consciousness and use your body for its own purposes? If I'd known it could do that to me, I'd have damn well done whatever I had to in order to prevent it!"

Satisfied that she is truly repulsed by the afternoon's adventures, Law uses his hold on Kyra's hand to draw her close and claim her mouth with his own. His free arm is soon wrapped around her waist, preventing her from backing up when air becomes needed. He kisses her until he can feel himself becoming light-headed from oxygen deprivation, and when he releases her lips it is only to plant his own over the tattoo on her neck.

"Do you know why I marked you with this?" the surgeon murmurs into inked skin once his breathing is more or less under control.

"To cover the permanent fucking bite mark?"

He grins against her, letting his tongue snake out for a quick taste. "I put this tattoo where everyone can see it so that they will know that you are mine. My magician, my woman, marked with my Jolly Roger. I don't give a damn how infatuated the Divine has decided to feel: I will not be giving you up to anyone anytime soon. If you only claimed that we cannot face our dear Mr. Merrick at sea because you are afraid of being retaken as his living test subject, tell me. I will give Gable the order to turn us around and put an end to that concern personally."

Kyra's forehead thumps down to rest against his shoulder as she sighs. "That wasn't why. I just haven't figured out how the hell to kill him. I'm fucking exhausted. I've used a lot of magic the last couple of days, I just got spiritually raped, and I want to bathe very badly. I don't want to deal with Merrick right now, and I don't want to engage him in a fight when we don't know what kind of back-up he has with him or even if it's possible for any of us to kill the bastard."

Appeased with her answers, Law gently propels her out of the galley in the direction of their room. "A shower sounds like a lovely idea. Surely you won't mind if I join you?"

Sleep-deprived blue eyes wander tiredly up to his face. "Would it do any good if I said yes?"

The Surgeon of Death smirks down at the Demon Witch with a michievous gleam in his own grey orbs. "Not a bit."

"Jackass."

Little one...

Kyra can't help the yelp that issues as she tries to bury her face further into Law's sternum. One hand clutches almost desperately at the man's left arm as images of the way it had looked hours ago flash before her eyes. Interspersed with that picture are snatches of the things she was forced to visualize while her body was used as a life-sized puppet by the owner of the voice that has just whispered through her mind.

Go away, she thinks desperately as both of Law's perfectly healthy arms wrap around her. Go away. GO AWAY!

Kyra does not want to hear that voice, safe in her captain's arms in their bed after two colossally shitty days. She wants to savor the calm around her until she is relaxed enough to sleep. She wants her private dreams with Law. She wants to work on erasing the image of him lying in a growing pool of his own blood, the bottom half of his arm blown off and his normally tan skin chalk-white. She wants to soak up the warmth of his flesh, which had been cold and clammy and unnatural when Kyra slapped his cheek to rouse him.

Little one, you must listen. You are in need of my help if you wish to defeat your foe.

The sorceress desperately wishes that she could simply clap her hands over her ears and make that fucking voice go silent.

"I have you," the man who is currently providing excellent service as Kyra's pillow murmurs, his familiar tones a welcome reminder that she is not alone. "I'm not going anywhere. Talk to me."

Ignore the human, little one. It is I who has information that you will need.

"It's whispering to me again," Kyra breathes out, lips moving against Law's flesh in an unintentional caress. "It says it has some kind of information."

"What information?" Calm, low, even. His voice is in complete contrast to the accelerated beating of the heart under Kyra's cheek.

You may tell your human lover. The Divine sounds less than pleased at what it obviously considers a generous allowance. As though Kyra actually needs its goddamn permission to do whatever the hell she wants. He will need to know so as to be sufficiently prepared to protect you.

Just say whatever and get out of my head, the uneasy mage thinks rudely. She doesn't give a shit about manners. This... thing used her to hurt Law. If she could, Kyra would kill it herself for that. There is a strange sensation like an invisible hand passing gently over her face. Kyra flinches away from it, turning her head until her other cheek rests against her lover's skin.

The being you call Merrick is not fully human.

What?

Rather, he is a half-breed. While his mother was a human, his father was of my race.

"Holy shit, there are more of you monsters running around?" Kyra blurts out, equal parts appalled and horrified. Law's arms tighten significantly as he tenses against her.

The Divine sounds rather insulted when it replies. We are not monsters, little one. We are merely different from humans. Long ago, before your histories were written, my race was the dominant species on this earth. Now the majority of my brothers and sisters have gone into permanent hibernation. I am older than you could possibly imagine, little Kyra. I have seen the ages of men rise and fall and rise again. I watched as the first of the Devil Fruit trees took root and grew. I have seen the earth reshape itself. I have watched the sun die to be reborn anew. I have witnessed wonders and terrors beyond your understanding. Sometimes, when one of my kind has seen and experienced too much, we choose to hide ourselves away and retreat into our minds. Better for us to sleep and dream for a few millennia rather than become overwhelmed and lose contact with our sanity.

Kyra quickly relates everything she is told to her captain. What does any of that have to do with Merrick? How do you know he's a - a half-breed?

Because I have tasted it in his blood. He possesses a limited amount of the abilities of my race. Nothing like the power which you wield, little one, but enough to prevent him from dying as easily as a normal human.

The sorceress feels something cold slither down her spine. You - you've met him?

Instead of answering with the mental words it normally uses to communicate with her, the Divine forces the memory into her brain with all the gentleness of someone ripping out a tooth with a pair of pliers.

The humans are staring at him in shock-awe-fear. They wave their puny weapons about, shouting at him and at each other with hurt-kill-maim thick in their voices. He slaughters them easily, snuffing out their pathetic lives like dozens of little flames. These humans are not important. The one he hunts is near; he scents the air with tongue and snout to lock onto the mortal's location. Anyone aboard the floating-gliding wooden contraption that gets in his way is disposed of.

He dislikes this vessel; it is too enclosed when he descends into its belly, reminding him of the cramped prison in which he wallowed for so many thousands of years before his little one set him free. He will give her great gifts in gratitude and affection. He has already purified his home for her, and soon he will present her with the head of the human male whom she hates with such fervor. Surely then his little one will accept his affection.

He licks his snout, cleaning his fangs of the accumulated gore. He wonders for a moment what the little one's blood tastes like; perhaps someday she will let him taste her.

His prey is waiting calmly for him, apparently not concerned with the slaughter of its traveling companions. The mortal is rather plain to the eye, in his opinion. Perhaps that is why his little one hates it so? Or mayhap she can smell the power coming off of it, a corrupted stench that offends his nostrils and plants the urge to kill in his soul. He bares his teeth at the male, spreading his wings wide and raising his head imperiously so that none may question which of them is truly dominant.

The other male immediately folds itself to kneel on the floor, pressing its forehead to the dead pieces of trees in submission.

"Welcome, Elder," it says, its voice soft and musical in contrast with other human voices he has heard. "I am honored by your presence. Please avail yourself upon the blood and meat of these humans, though they are hardly worthy of your palate."

He snarls at the pretty-voiced creature before him, insulted that it thinks flowery greetings and the offer of meat will appease him. His tail is around its throat in an instant, lifting it off the floor as he begins to slowly strangle it. He has placed the strange not-human smell from it, recognizes the power that lies just beneath its ugly pale skin; but not even the child of one of his many brothers may mock him without retribution.

Do not think to tame me, half-breed, he sneers into the tainted creature's mind. He would very much like to kill it, as he had planned to go to his little one and present her its head. He is tempted to do so, although the laws of his race compel him to give warning first. Half-breed it may be, but as such it is still protected under the ancient protocols. Killing it would give its father cause to challenge him. The little one might become involved. That is not an acceptable risk. Tradition will be followed instead.

You are hunting one who is forever under my protection. Were it not for the fact that your father is of my race, I would gladly kill you for her. She is my savior, and none shall ever cause her harm. I give you a single warning, mortal, thereby following the demands of the imperatives of my species: cease your hunt for her or I will present her with your head.

"Wh...who?" it gasps out, fingers clutching at his tail in a useless struggle to loosen his hold around its neck. "Who is this savior, Elder?"

She who is called Kyra, is his devoted reply, the name of his little one echoing within his head in a most pleasant manner. The half-breed is thrown carelessly across the room; he is gone before it can regain its footing, shooting up through the layers of dead wood until he can feel the sun on his fur and feathers once again. The half-breed has been sufficiently warned; if it strays after his little one again he will happily tear it to pieces with teeth and claw and tail. Anything for his little one.

Only for Kyra.

Kyra comes back to herself with a disoriented shout and an ungodly headache. Law has shifted them during her little foray down the Divine's memory lane, so that she lies with her head in his lap as he leans back against the wall. She is thankful that it is late and the lights are out; her cranium is pounding plenty without light piercing her eyes.

You are safe from the half-breed for now, little one, the Divine whispers tenderly while her magic works to relieve the sorceress of the dozen or so giants doing jumping jacks on her brain. I will be here when its obsession overrides its self-preservation. I will not allow you to be harmed.

Again with that promise. Kyra seems to remember it saying the same damn thing yesterday - right after letting her get halfway gutted. Some niggling suspicion tells her this is going to be about as horrific an idea as that one.

"Are you aware at last, my magician?" Law's hand smooths over her cheek while the other continues it's pleasurable assault on her sensitive skull. She quickly recounts everything she has just seen, ignoring the grumbles of displeasure from the Divine as she does so. The beast just mentally assaulted her; it can go crawl in a hole for all she cares if it doesn't like what she's doing. Story finished, Kyra rolls so that she is staring up at Law and scrubs her sweaty face with both hands.

"What do you want to do?" the sorceress inquiry softly, feeling sore and spent in a decidedly unsatisfying manner. Damn, but she wants to sleep for a few days.

Law hums, the vibrations transmitting easily through where they are touching. He bends to feather his lips over hers, smirking as he always seems to when unconcerned or supremely pleased with himself. "Do? Nothing. Anything. I rather thought that what we have been doing seems like a good idea for now. If Merrick will not be a threat for the foreseeable future, then there is no need to worry."

He untangles his hand from Kyra's hair and grins at her while smoothing his thumb repeatedly over her forehead. "Don't make that face, Kyra. Surgeon I may be, but it is beyond my field of expertise to remove worry lines or premature wrinkles."

Kyra retaliates by slapping the smug bastard hard on the chest, pushing herself up and out of his lap. She swings her legs over the side of the bed and stands, going over to pick up her satchel full of clothes before heading to the bathroom.

"I feel gross. I'm taking a shower." That is all she says before closing the door behind her and stripping.

She stands for a long time under the heat of the water, trying so damn hard not to think. Kyra is tired of thinking. She just wants to relax and sleep. Surely that's not too much to ask, right? Not after what happened yesterday, not after being possessed today. The sorceress would really like to take a vacation from the perpetual headache her life has become since she let the Divine out of its freaking cage. Why the hell won't it just leave her alone?

And now Merrick knows about the creature. Merrick knows that it is fond of her, that Kyra set it free, that it will kill him should he come after her. That should hopefully buy Kyra more time to figure out just how the hell she's supposed to kill the son of a bitch. The Divine claims that Merrick has the blood of one of those monsters running through his veins. It says Merrick can't be killed as easily as a normal human. So how the hell is she supposed to do it? Her powers won't work; she's tried that already. If Kyra's magic doesn't get the job done, she seriously doubts bullets or blades will have any effect. Maybe Law can cook up some kind of slow-acting poison?

No way in Hell is Kyra simply going to hand the man who peeled her mother's face off to the Divine. She's going to kill him. Personally.

And gods, but she's going to enjoy it immensely.

A/N: Please review.