Chapter 9 – It's Coming
Quinn rubbed her eyes with a sigh; she and Rachel had already been at school for the past three hours and classes hadn't even begun yet. Since getting the spell cast on her that put her in a world where she wasn't the Slayer, they had been doing as much research as possible to figure out who was involved. And on top of that, Quinn had found several elderly people dead in two different cemeteries, so they were also trying to research possible culprits. Rachel was currently looking into that while Quinn was looking through books for known warlocks, which, unfortunately, there were a lot of.
"I found a demon that preys on the elderly," Rachel said, grabbing her notebook, and writing something down.
"Does it sound like it?" Quinn asked.
"Not really," Rachel replied. "This one liked to harvest their organs and the bodies you found were intact. I'm not ruling anything out, though."
Quinn sighed. They had been at this for the past several days, but they were no closer to solving either thing. She felt like they were going around in circles most of the time, especially when it came to the warlock. Her Watcher had contacted the Council, but they were being completely useless. They said they were looking into it, but Quinn was doubtful. Beiste was trying to use her contacts outside of the Council, but so far, she'd come up empty as well. No one seemed to have any clue who this warlock was, or if they did, they weren't saying anything.
The door opened and Quinn glanced up, hoping it was her Watcher with some good news, but it was just Santana and Brittany. Quinn guessed that meant the sun was about to come up, which also meant it was almost time for Glee rehearsals.
"Are you two still in here?" Santana asked. "You need lives."
"Well, I'm trying to stay alive, so, yes, I'm still here," Quinn said, rolling her eyes.
"She's right," Brittany said. "We should really help her more."
Santana scoffed. "She's the one who's the Slayer; she can do it herself."
"It's fine, Brittany," Quinn replied.
"San and I killed two vampires tonight," Brittany said, walking over, and sitting down in one of the empty seats.
"I'm surprised," Quinn replied, looking at the vampire, and raising her eyebrow.
"San thinks it's fun," Brittany stated.
"You do?" Quinn asked in amusement.
"Whatever," Santana said with a shrug. "It's not like there's anything else to do in this town. Everything closes by eight."
"That's a bit of an exaggeration," Rachel remarked. "The movie theater and quite a few restaurants are open much later than that, not to mention the bowling alley and roller rink."
"She says bowling and roller-skating are for dorks," Brittany replied.
"Be that as it may, they are open," Rachel said.
Quinn smirked as Santana glared at Rachel. For once, the vampire didn't say anything back, and Quinn figured it was because she knew Rachel had a point. Not that that usually stopped her from arguing, but this time, Santana just crossed her arms and walked over to her bed. Brittany stayed at the table, though, and picked up one of the books from the pile. Quinn didn't expect her friends to help, but it was nice when they did, so if Brittany wanted to help, Quinn wasn't going to argue.
"What are we looking for?" Brittany asked.
"Any demon that specifically kills older people," Rachel replied.
"You still haven't found that?" Santana asked from across the room.
"No," Quinn mumbled.
"Hasn't it been a week?" Santana asked.
"Five days," Quinn mumbled.
"On the bright side, there haven't been any new bodies for the past two days, so maybe whatever it was has quit," Rachel stated.
"Why would it quit?" Santana asked.
"I don't know," Rachel said with a shrug. "Some demons only need to kill a certain number of people every year or two; maybe it's one of those."
Quinn was doubtful that was the case, but she wasn't going to tell Rachel that. And definitely not in front of Santana. She figured she would either find or hear about another body sooner or later even if there hadn't been any reported for the past few nights. While what Rachel said was true, most demons didn't behave that way, so she doubted the killings would just end on their own. It was her job to find this demon, and unless she just happened to stumble upon it while on patrol, they needed to find it in one of these books and figure out where it was so she could kill it.
"What time is it?" Rachel asked.
Quinn grabbed her phone to look at the time. "Almost seven."
"We're going to be late!" Rachel said.
"Chill, Berry," Santana replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Sectionals are this weekend, Santana," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips, and looking over her shoulder. "If we're not prepared, we're going to lose to Kurt and those Warblers, and I for one do not want that to happen. We all need to take rehearsals seriously, which means not being late to them."
"We're not going to be late," Quinn said softly, standing up. "Let's get to the auditorium."
"At least someone other than me is committed to the Glee Club," Rachel commented.
"More like she's whipped," Santana said.
"You're one to talk," Quinn replied, raising her eyebrow.
"Come on, San," Brittany said, holding out her hand.
The vampire looked reluctant, but proved Quinn's point by taking Brittany's hand. Quinn tried not to laugh out loud, but failed, receiving a glare from Santana.
"Shut up," Santana mumbled as she walked past.
"Finn, go left," Mr. Schue called out.
"I am," Finn replied.
"Your actual left!" Santana snapped.
Finn threw his hands up and walked to the side of the stage while the rest tried to do Mr. Schue's routine. It was simple—far too simple if they wanted to make it to Nationals—but yet half of the group kept messing it up. Of course, this was only their second day of rehearsals because, once again, their teacher had waited until the last minute to make a set list and come up with a routine for them to perform.
"Brittany, what are you doing?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Why can't we do that?" Sam asked, pointing to Brittany. "It's cool."
"Because this is the routine we're doing at Sectionals," Mr. Schue replied.
"But why?" Sam asked.
"I have to agree with Sam," Rachel chimed in. "Brittany's moves are much more technical and I believe the judges will be far more likely to give us first place if we were to perform them."
"Guys, this isn't up for discussion," Mr. Schue replied. "We only have four days to perfect this if we want to win."
"Which is why we shoulda started this weeks ago," Puck gruffly said. "We're going to be a laughing stock if we do this, and the Puckster isn't going to be laughed at."
"Mr. Schue," Mike said, raising his hand.
The teacher sighed. "Yes, Mike?"
"I think Brittany and I could polish up your routine a little bit," Mike said. "Nothing too extreme, but maybe we can make it a little more cool. Something to get the judges to notice us."
Mr. Schue rubbed at his temples and Quinn knew they were wearing him down. There had been a small meeting after Glee the previous day to discuss how terrible their choreography was. Everyone was in complete agreement that if they wanted to beat the Warblers, they needed something better. Rachel had been the one to come up the plan; they would just continue to reason and complain in hopes that Mr. Schue would listen to them. Everyone knew Brittany and Mike could come up with something brilliant, which was exactly what they were going to need if they were going to win this.
"Look, guys, we really don't have the time for this," Mr. Schue said.
"I think they're right," Tina commented. "With Kurt joining the Warblers, we're going to have an even harder time beating them."
"Yeah, Mr. Schue," Mercedes said. "They're not known for their dancing and that's what can set us apart from them."
"Fine," Mr. Schue said, throwing up his hands. "Brittany, Mike, I want you two working on a new routine. It needs to be done by the end of the day. Everyone meet back here right after the final bell." Mr. Schue sighed. "I'll see you all then."
Quinn looked over at Rachel, who was smiling. She was clearly proud of herself and Quinn couldn't help but shake her head and smile as well. Everyone had done exactly what she'd said and it had worked like a charm. Mr. Schue, on the other hand, looked quite defeated as he grabbed his messenger bag, and began walking off the stage. Quinn would have felt bad for him, but his choreography really was sub-par and would have probably lost them Sectionals if they hadn't done something about it.
"I hope he isn't too angry with us," Rachel whispered.
Quinn shrugged. "He'll get over it."
"So, how did I do?" Finn asked with a grin as soon as the door swung shut behind their teacher.
"Oh, I'm sorry, were you actually trying to suck?" Santana asked. "Because I couldn't tell a difference."
Finn frowned and Rachel said, "You did very well, Finn. You all did."
"Do you want us to show you what we have?" Mike asked.
"Actually, I believe we should all take a five minute break and then I would be happy for you to show us what you've come up with," Rachel replied.
Everyone began to disperse, but Quinn stayed where she was and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Rachel replied, but she still looked slightly worried.
"What's wrong?" Quinn asked.
"It's nothing, really," Rachel replied. "I just hope we did the right thing."
"It was your idea," Quinn pointed out.
"I know, which is why it will be my fault if we don't come in first place," Rachel replied.
"It won't be your fault," Quinn said.
Rachel shook her head and then gave Quinn a smile. "I'm sorry. I think I'm just tired, and when I'm tired, I tend to worry a lot more and question my decisions."
Quinn leaned over and gave Rachel a kiss; when she pulled back, she put her hand on Rachel's cheek and said, "If you're tired, why didn't you say anything? You didn't have to come with me this morning."
"But I wanted to," Rachel replied. "You shouldn't have to do all of this on your own."
"And I appreciate that, but—"
"No buts," Rachel interrupted. "I want to help you and I will continue to do so."
"I wasn't going to tell you to stop," Quinn replied. "I was just going to say that you shouldn't put everything aside to help me, and that includes sleeping. You need to make sure you're taking care of yourself."
"Don't worry about me," Rachel said, shaking her head lightly, and giving Quinn a smile.
"I always worry about you," Quinn softly replied, placing a kiss on Rachel's lips.
Quinn peeked around the corner of the mausoleum at a vampire that was several yards away. It didn't seem to know she was there and she was hoping to keep it that way. It was late, she was tired, and she would rather not have a difficult fight. She just wished she'd brought her crossbow, so she could take care of the vampire right now, but all she had was a stake in her hand and a small dagger tucked into her waistband.
She looked around the corner again, and as soon as its back was turned, Quinn began making her way toward the vampire. She tried to remain as quiet as possible, stepping around the leaves and twigs that littered the ground. Just as she was about to be within arm's reach, it paused and so did Quinn. She gripped the stake a little tighter and raised her arm as she took a step forward. Just as she was about to make contact with the vampire, it quickly turned, blocking her with its arm.
The vampire knocked Quinn back, sending the stake flying to her left, but she remained on her feet and threw a punch. The punch threw the vampire off balance and Quinn used the time to somersault to her stake, grabbing it off the ground. As the vampire ran toward her, Quinn spun out of the way and jabbed the stake in its back, turning it to dust moments later.
"You need to learn to not be heard."
Quinn jumped and turned to find Myk standing just behind her. It wasn't the first time he had snuck up on her like this, and anytime he did, there was always a reason. She hadn't seen the demon since the night she killed Shelby, and she dreaded to know why he was here now.
"Maybe I'll teach you someday," he added.
"I do just fine," Quinn wryly said.
"If you say so," Myk replied.
Quinn sighed and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to warn you," Myk answered. "Something is happening. Something bad for you and your kind."
"How do you know this?" Quinn wondered.
"I hear talk," Myk replied. "Talk of a darkness."
"The darkness is coming," Quinn whispered to herself. "Where did you hear this from?"
"Unlike you, I know how to remain unseen and unheard," Myk stated. "There has been talk of a warlock who plans to change the world. He wants to rule it and enslave your kind. He has many followers in the demon world. Many think he can bring back the old days when you humans did not rule this world."
"So why are you here?" Quinn asked.
"I do not wish to return to the old days," Myk replied. "I've become quite fond of this world and a few of the humans in it."
Quinn had no reason not to trust the little demon. He'd helped her more than once—even saving her life—and she didn't doubt he was speaking the truth. She did, however, have to wonder why he was coming to her with this now. Clearly this warlock had been in town for at least a year, and she figured he had been working on whatever he was doing since the moment he came to Lima.
"What can you tell me about this warlock?" Quinn asked.
"He has many people working for him and he is powerful," Myk replied.
"Yeah, I got that," Quinn said. "I think he's the one who cast that spell on me when everyone in town disappeared and he did something similar just a few weeks ago."
"He's trying to get rid of the Slayer," Myk said, nodding. "I once overheard a human girl talking about him. She called the warlock Dustin and said that he is very old."
"So he's definitely not human, then," Quinn commented.
"Maybe, maybe not," Myk replied. "There are ways to stay alive for multiple generations. Ones a warlock may know. Most demons do not bother with spells, after all; they have other ways of getting what they want."
"Do you know where he is?" Quinn asked.
"No," Myk answered. "I tried to follow the girl in hopes that she would take me back to him, but—I lost her."
Quinn sighed; Myk had helped, but she needed more information—information that could actually lead her to him. She didn't want to wait around for a surprise attack or for another spell to be cast on her. She needed to know where he was and what his plan was so she could stop it.
"If you find out anything else, can you let me know?" Quinn asked.
Myk shook his head. "I will be gone."
"Gone?" Quinn asked.
"The things I hear—I do not have a good feeling," Myk said. "I'm leaving this town until it is safe to come back. I will be gone by the time the sun rises; I've waited as long as I could. I wanted to know more before I found you, but it's been difficult. There is a lot of talk, but also not a lot to know. I'm sorry I could not help you more."
"You may have helped me more than you know," Quinn replied.
Myk nodded. "I will see you, Slayer. Don't fail."
Quinn couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. "I'll try not to."
As Quinn rolled over, her hand landed in the empty space next to her. She felt around the sheets and then opened her eyes when she realized they were cold. Her heart instantly began to pound and she quickly sat up. Thankfully, her panic quickly subsided when she saw Rachel at her desk with a book in front of her.
"What are you doing up?" Quinn asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eye.
"I didn't wake you, did I?" Rachel asked.
Quinn stifled a yawn as she shook her head. "No. I just—noticed you weren't in bed."
"You should go back to sleep," Rachel replied.
"You should go back to sleep," Quinn countered.
Quinn threw off the covers and stood up, rubbing her arms from the sudden cold. She padded across the floor and looked over Rachel's shoulder to see that she was doing research. She looked over her shoulder and saw that it was only a little after five. Rachel had still been up when Quinn had gotten home, so she knew the brunette couldn't have gotten more than four hours' sleep.
"Just let me finish this book and I'll be right there," Rachel said, glancing up.
"You're only halfway through," Quinn said, leaning down, and wrapping her arms around Rachel. "It'll be time for school by the time you finish it."
"I don't think it'll take quite that long," Rachel replied.
"Come on," Quinn whispered into Rachel's ear. "Come to bed."
Rachel sighed softly and then looked up at Quinn and nodded. She took an index card and put it in the book before closing it. As soon as Quinn released Rachel, the brunette reached out and took her hand. Quinn smiled softly as Rachel stood and pulled her toward the bed. They still had an hour of sleep left before Quinn needed to go back to her room. Most nights she found herself sleeping in Rachel's room, but she always tried to go back to hers before Rachel's father came upstairs. Even though all they ever did was sleep, she knew Leroy wouldn't appreciate finding them in bed together, and Quinn was afraid he would kick her out if he ever did.
"I'm sorry I made you get up," Rachel said, crawling into bed.
"Don't be," Quinn replied, pulling the covers over them, and lying back.
"Did you set the alarm last night?" Rachel asked, scooting over, so she could put her head on Quinn's chest.
"Yeah," Quinn answered.
Rachel let out a long breath and wrapped her arm around Quinn, who put hers around the brunette's shoulder, pulling her closer. Quinn closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Rachel's breathing. As she laid there, instead of drifting off to sleep, her mind began to wonder to the night before. It had taken her forever to fall asleep the first time and it was apparently going to be that way again. She just couldn't stop going over everything Myk had said to her, hoping to remember every detail of it.
"Hey," Rachel whispered, and Quinn hummed back in response. "I can tell when you're sleeping and when you're lying there thinking."
"Really?" Quinn asked, cracking a smile.
"Yes, and I can hear you thinking right now," Rachel stated.
"Sorry," Quinn replied.
"Is this about last night?" Rachel asked. "Will you tell me now what happened?"
Quinn sighed; she hadn't told Rachel when she came home because she knew the brunette would insist on staying up all night to look into it. While Quinn really wanted to do just that, she knew they both needed the sleep. Especially Rachel, who had forgone much of her sleep the past few nights.
"Please," Rachel said when Quinn didn't answer. "We have to get up in less than an hour, anyway. You should just tell me since I doubt either of us are going to fall asleep now."
"I saw Myk in the cemetery," Quinn finally stated.
"Was he okay?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, he's leaving town and just wanted to tell me what he knew before he went," Quinn replied.
"He's leaving town?" Rachel asked, raising her head up. "That can't be a good sign."
"I know," Quinn said with a sigh.
"What else did he tell you?" Rachel asked.
"Not a lot that we couldn't already guess," Quinn replied. "He wants to take over the world, he has a lot of people working for him, he's old and powerful. There was one thing he said, though. At the beginning of the school year, did Brittany ever show you the email the Watcher's Council sent to Coach Beiste?"
"She did, yes," Rachel answered.
"Something Myk said reminded me of it," Quinn said. "He called it a darkness. The email said the darkness is coming."
"That can't be a coincidence," Rachel replied. "But I thought it had to do with the rituals that demon was performing."
"So did I," Quinn said.
"Well, you stopped that," Rachel stated.
"What if we just thought I did?" Quinn asked. "Or what if it was something else entirely?"
"The other words in the email—what were they?" Rachel asked.
Quinn shook her head. "I don't remember, but I think Beiste still has it."
"We should definitely look into it first thing," Rachel replied.
"We have rehearsals," Quinn pointed out.
"Well—we'll look into it the moment Mr. Schue dismisses us," Rachel said. "Unless you want to go right now."
"No," Quinn shook her head, "let's try to sleep."
Rachel nodded and put her head back down on Quinn's chest. "I suppose we do have all day."
"Yeah," Quinn agreed as she closed her eyes.
Quinn looked over at Rachel, who was looking back at her and smiling. She had no idea what she was so happy about—Glee was going terribly—but Quinn smiled back, nevertheless. She then glanced to her left and rolled her eyes; Santana and Mercedes were off to the side arguing loudly while Mr. Schue tried to calm them both down. And even though Brittany was still demonstrating the dance, Finn and Puck were both sitting at the bottom of the risers. Everything was a complete mess right now and they only had three days to pull everything together if they had any hope of winning Sectionals.
"This is a disaster," Tina commented from just behind Quinn.
"I think that's an understatement," Quinn replied.
Rachel sighed. "I'm afraid I have to agree."
"Don't say that, guys," Mike said. "We'll get it."
"Will we?" Tina asked, sounding skeptical.
"We'll simply have to," Rachel answered. "I, for one, am not going to lose Sectionals. We are going to make it to Nationals this year; we're just going to have to practice every moment we have free."
"I don't think we're the problem," Quinn remarked.
"You're right," Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips. "Finn! Puck! Stand up right this instant and pay attention to what Brittany is doing."
"It's not like we're the only ones not dancing," Finn replied.
"I'm about to get to that," Rachel said, turning on her heel, and marching toward Santana and Mercedes. "You two are going to stop fighting right now. We only have three days left before we're going to be on that stage, and I would rather not be laughed off of it because half the people don't know the choreography! Mercedes, you're just going to have to accept that Ana has a solo. I don't care if she hasn't been in Glee that long; Mr. Schue obviously thinks she is right for the part and I have to agree with him. It suits her voice very well, and if she was no longer singing it, the entire song would have to change, which we do not have the time for."
Santana smirked while Mercedes put her hands on her hips, mirroring Rachel. Quinn could tell she was about to say something, so she walked toward the group and raised her eyebrow at Mercedes. The other girl glanced at her and then looked back at Rachel. She clearly wanted to say something, but dropped her arms and remained quiet.
"You heard the midget," Santana said, her smirk still firmly in place.
"I would really appreciate it if you would stop calling me that," Rachel replied.
Quinn noticed both Mike and Finn looking at the vampire with curious expressions on their faces. Every time Santana said things like that, she could tell people became suspicious. Of course, no one would ever really believe the truth, but it was clear they were thinking it. She, Rachel, and Brittany had all tried to get Santana to tone down her personality—to make her less like herself when in public—but it was impossible. She wouldn't listen to any of them; she would just say that it didn't matter because no one would ever believe it. Quinn knew that may be true, but it didn't mean she couldn't be a little more careful about things.
"Can we dance now?" Brittany asked.
"I'm afraid Glee is almost over, Brittany," Mr. Schue replied. "Okay, I know we still have five minutes left, but it's not really enough time do anything, so I want you all back here tomorrow morning at seven. I know it's early, but I don't want to hear any complaints. We have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Don't be late, guys!"
Rachel sighed and turned to Quinn. "I hate to say it, but I don't know if we're going to be ready by Saturday."
"We will be," Quinn said, reaching out, and taking her hand.
Quinn wasn't so sure about what she was saying, but she hated seeing Rachel pessimistic about things. Besides, it wasn't the first time they wouldn't be fully prepared for a competition and she doubted it would be the last. At least their songs were better this time, so if nothing else, hopefully that would pull them through.
"Do you want to go to the training room?" Rachel asked.
"We should," Quinn replied with a sigh.
Rachel nodded. "I was thinking that maybe we can get something to eat soon."
"Okay," Quinn said, shrugging.
Rachel smiled. "Maybe we can research for an hour and then go somewhere before you have to patrol. I think it will be good for us to get out; it feels like all we've done this week is stare at old books."
"That's because that is all we've done," Quinn said, laughing lightly. "But, yes, going out to eat would be nice."
"Wonderful," Rachel replied. "It's a date."
Quinn knew they needed to research as much as possible, but it would be nice to have a small break. It really felt like they had done nothing else lately and she knew it was starting to take its toll on both of them.
"One medium hot chocolate and one medium soy vanilla latte," Quinn said to the barista behind the counter.
"Look," Rachel said, tugging on Quinn's arm while she tried to pay for the drinks. "There's Kurt.
Quinn glanced up and looked where Rachel was pointing. "Who's the other guy?"
"I'm guessing that's Blaine," Rachel replied. "Kurt has a huge crush on him; he's the lead singer of the Warblers. We should go over and say hi."
Quinn hummed and said, "I'll bring your latte to you if you want to go over."
"Okay," Rachel replied, leaning up, and kissing Quinn's cheek.
Quinn watched as Rachel walked over to the two boys. She could tell the brunette was excited by the way she was walking; her shoulders were pulled back and she was walking quicker than usual. As soon as Kurt saw Rachel, he lit up and immediately stood, hugging Rachel. He then gestured toward his dark haired companion, who smiled up at Rachel and gave her a little wave. Quinn couldn't hear what any of them were saying, but Kurt and Rachel were both gesturing a lot and smiling.
"I think that's your order."
Quinn hummed, looking over her shoulder at the guy behind her, who was pointing toward the counter. "Oh, yeah, sorry."
"Believe me, it's no problem," he said, smiling at her.
Quinn picked up the latte and hot chocolate and then walked over to grab some napkins just in case. When she set her drink down to grab them, the man that had been behind her stopped next to her.
"Is one of them your boyfriend?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.
Quinn mentally rolled her eyes, but kept her face passive. "No."
"That's cool," the guy said.
"The girl, however, is my girlfriend," Quinn stated before he could get any further.
"Oh," he replied. "That's cool, too. Maybe—"
Quinn did roll her eyes that time as she picked up her drink and walked away before he could finish whatever he was going to say. She knew it would be nothing good, though, and probably leave her with the desire to verbally assault him. It wasn't the first time some guy had hit on her and she knew it wouldn't be the last. Thankfully, she didn't get out as much now, so she didn't have to deal with it like she used to. She was almost always either at school, where everyone knew she and Rachel were together; in the cemetery, where the only other people were usually dead; or at home with Rachel.
"One medium soy vanilla latte," Quinn said, setting it down in front of Rachel.
"Thank you," Rachel replied, smiling up at her.
"Blaine, this is my girlfriend, Quinn," Rachel introduced.
"Hi," Blaine said.
"Hey," Quinn replied, pulling out the chair next to Rachel, and sitting down.
"Hi, Quinn," Kurt greeted.
"We were just talking about Saturday," Rachel said, looking at Quinn.
"Yes, we were talking about how the Warblers are going to beat New Directions," Kurt said with a little smirk.
"I'm afraid you're going to be severely disappointed," Rachel replied. "The New Directions are going to win."
"I heard you guys last year at Sectionals and I thought you were really good," Blaine interjected. "You're definitely going to be tough competition."
"Thank you, Blaine," Rachel said, smiling at him.
"And regardless of who wins, it's the effort that counts, right?" Blaine replied.
"No," Kurt and Rachel answered in unison.
"You don't know these two very well," Quinn said, motioning to Rachel.
Blaine laughed. "Obviously."
"So, other than being in the Warblers, how is Dalton going?" Quinn asked.
"It's going well," Kurt replied. "They have a no bullying policy, so no more homophobic comments in the hall from lunkheaded football players. It's been an adjustment; the classes are a lot harder and I'm still getting used to being away from home through the week." Kurt sighed. "I do miss McKinley, though. Not all the idiots that seem to roam the halls, but I miss Glee."
"You know you could always come back," Rachel said.
"Trust me, I've tried," Kurt replied. "My dad just doesn't think it's safe there for me. I told him there's nothing to worry about, but he won't listen to me."
Quinn and Rachel glanced at each other. They both knew Kurt's father was right; the school definitely wasn't safe, but then again, neither was the rest of the town. Really, the whole world wasn't. Things were drawn to Lima because it was the Hellmouth, but that didn't mean there weren't demons and vampires elsewhere. The world was full of evil, and changing schools wasn't going to do a whole lot to keep Kurt safe.
"Well, if you ever change your father's mind, we would all love to have you back," Rachel said. "You were always one of the most talented members—after me, of course—and I hate to see you as part of the competition." Rachel sighed. "I hate to run, but Quinn and I really need to be going."
Quinn wanted to tell Rachel that she should stay around longer, but it really was getting late. Getting a bite to eat took longer than Quinn thought it would, and then Rachel had suggested stopping for coffee afterwards. Quinn didn't regret it, but it would be dark soon, which meant she needed to be out patrolling in about an hour.
"It was nice meeting you," Blaine said.
"You too," Rachel replied. "Maybe we can do this again sometime. It would certainly be nice to see more of Kurt, and considering you're also in show choir, I imagine we have quite a bit in common."
"I guess we'll see you Saturday," Kurt said. "Be prepared to lose, Rachel Berry."
"Never," Rachel said, scoffing, and then giving Kurt a smile.
Quinn tapped her fingers against her leg as she walked through the cemetery; after hearing Goodbye to You so many times while trying to perfect their choreography, she had the song stuck in her head. Several times she began to hum it, but then she realized where she was and that it probably wasn't the best idea to let everyone know she was coming. So far, though, every cemetery she'd walked through had been completely deserted. She had been patrolling for several hours, but she'd yet to run across anyone or anything.
She continued walking between the headstones, keeping her eyes peeled for anything that moved. The deeper she walked into the cemetery, the more the clouds rolled in, and the harder it became to see. She just hoped it didn't begin raining, though it was probably cold enough at the point to snow rather than rain.
Just as she passed by a small mausoleum, she heard a scream in the distance. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, listening for the sound to come again. When she heard a scream again, she turned to her left and began running toward the source of the noise. The cemetery was relatively open, but she couldn't see where the screams were coming from. She looked behind the headstones as she ran by, heading for the only other mausoleum in the place, hoping whoever was being attacked was on the other side.
There was a third scream and Quinn ran even faster, knowing it was definitely coming from behind the cement building. She flew around the corner, and when she got to the front of the building, there was a woman on the ground and a demon standing above her. It had its hands on her shoulders and strands of light were coming out of the woman's eyes and mouth, going into the demon. Without hesitating any longer, Quinn ran at the demon, jumping, and kicking it. The lights that connected the two immediately stopped and the demon turned toward Quinn with a growl.
The demon wasn't very big—only a few inches taller than Quinn—but when it hit her, the blonde flew back several yards, landing on her back. She laid there a moment as she tried to catch her breath, but the demon was walking toward her, and she quickly scrambled to her feet. The demon attempted to grab her, but Quinn ducked under its arm and kicked it in the back, sending it stumbling forward. As it turned, it tried the use its claws on Quinn, narrowly missing her by just a few inches. While it was turned slightly, Quinn threw a punch, knocking the demon to the ground.
Quinn pulled her dagger out of her waistband and stabbed the demon in the back with it, but it barely seemed to notice the dagger, which had only went in a few inches. Within moments, the demon was on its feet, throwing Quinn back again. She hit the ground hard and she felt completely dazed. Before she could stand, the demon picked her up by her throat, lifting her off her feet. Its hold on her throat was so tight that she couldn't breathe. She felt like she was going to pass out, but she managed to kick the demon as hard as she could and it finally dropped her.
When her feet hit the ground, then ran toward the demon, driving it back and into the side of the mausoleum. Once again, it knocked her back, but this time she remained on her feet as the demon staggered forward. Quinn threw several punches, ducking a slow one from the demon, and then kicked it back, into the wall. Just as Quinn was about to hit it again, the demon fell forward, the dagger now fully in the demon's back. When the demon stilled, Quinn nudged it with her shoe, but it didn't move.
"Are you alright?" Quinn called out, looking around for the woman it had attacked.
She saw her exactly where she had left her, but now she was sitting up. As Quinn approached, the woman recoiled a little bit, so she stopped with a bit of distance between them and knelt down. The woman looked terrified—not that Quinn could blame her—and she wondered if she was in shock.
"Are you okay?" Quinn asked again.
"I-I think so," the woman replied. "What the hell was that?"
Quinn shook her head and said, "It doesn't matter; it's over."
The woman stood up and Quinn followed suit. Quinn looked her up and down to check for any injuries, but she couldn't see anything physically wrong with her. She had no idea what the demon was doing, but whatever it was, Quinn knew she was lucky she got there in time to stop it.
"Can I give you a ride somewhere?" Quinn asked.
The woman nodded. "I was walking home when that thing grabbed me."
"Yeah, it's not exactly safe around here," Quinn remarked. "I'll drive you home."
"Thank you," the woman replied. "Not just for the ride, but you know—for saving me."
"I was just in the right place at the right time," Quinn said, shrugging.
"There you are," Rachel said the moment Quinn walked into the bedroom. "I was beginning to worry about you."
"It's not that late," Quinn replied, groaning slightly when she pulled off her sweater, and threw it into Rachel's laundry basket.
"Quinn!" Rachel said, gasping when she looked her way.
"What?" Quinn asked, looking down, and seeing a huge bruise on her shoulder, which extended down her arm. "Oh. Don't worry about it."
"What happened?" Rachel asked, standing up, and rushing over to Quinn.
"I fought a demon and it threw me around a little," Quinn replied. "I must have hit my shoulder at some point. It's nothing to worry about, okay? I'm fine."
"But—"
"Don't worry," Quinn said, cutting Rachel off with a quick kiss.
"Of course I worry," Rachel said with a slight pout.
Quinn smiled softly over her shoulder as she walked to Rachel's desk. There were books strewn about and Rachel's notebook was on top of one of the piles. She picked it up, glancing at it, and then asked Rachel, "Have you found any demons that turn people old by—I don't know—sucking their life out of them or something."
"I have, actually," Rachel said, rushing over, and taking the notebook out of Quinn's hands. "It's called," Rachel paused, flipping through the pages of her notebook, "a Dreight. Why do you ask?"
"I fought a demon over in Stewart Cemetery," Quinn replied. "A woman screamed, and when I got to her, there was this light going from the woman to the demon. I didn't know what it was, but I stopped it and killed the demon. Afterwards, I gave her a ride home, and when she saw herself in the mirror, she freaked out."
"Freaked out how?" Rachel asked
"She kept asking what happened to her hair and her face," Quinn said. "I thought she was in her forties, but she was actually only thirty-two. Her hair was half gray, though. I guessed that maybe it was the demon's doing."
"Yes," Rachel said as she grabbed one of the books from the pile on the floor. "That sounds exactly like what the Dreight does. I believe it has to feed once a year, and when it does, it drains the life from people. It was one of the more promising options on the list I've made tonight." She held out the book to Quinn. "Is this is?"
"That's it," Quinn answered, looking at a drawing of the lumpy, yellow skinned demon.
"So, it's dead?" Rachel asked.
Quinn nodded. "It's dead. I'm sorry you did all this research for nothing."
"Don't worry about it," Rachel said with a shrug. "I believe it's always better to be over prepared than under. I'm just happy you could stop it. And this also means we can focus on finding more about the warlock now."
"Yeah, but that can wait until tomorrow," Quinn said, reaching out for Rachel's hand.
"Well, as you pointed out, it's not that late," Rachel stated.
"I know, but I'm guessing you've been sitting here since the moment you came home," Quinn replied. "Take a break; get some sleep."
Rachel sighed and said, "I suppose I could put it off until tomorrow."
Quinn smiled. "I'm going to go take a quick shower."
"You can use mine if you want," Rachel said, turning to put her books away.
Quinn nodded and grabbed a pair of sleep pants, a shirt, and some clean underwear from Rachel's dresser, where she kept a few of her clothes. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her before looking into the mirror. She frowned as she turned to her right, trying to get a better look at her bruised shoulder. When she pulled off her shirt, there was also some bruising on her other shoulder and along her spine. Thankfully, it looked worse than it felt.
She shook her head and threw off the rest of her clothes before jumping into a warm shower. The water felt good against her muscles,
especially her shoulder, which seemed to hurt the worst. After washing off with Rachel's body wash, she turned off the water and dried herself, wrapping the towel around her body.
"Hey," she called out, opening the door a bit.
"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked.
"No, I was just wondering if you could grab my toothbrush from the other bathroom," Quinn said.
Rachel smiled. "I'll be right back.
Quinn closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar, and dropped her towel. She put on her panties and then pulled her old Cheerios t-shirt over her head. As she grabbed her pajama pants, the door opened, and Rachel walked in with her toothbrush. Rather than turn around, Rachel just looked up and down, a smile appearing on her face.
Quinn rolled her eyes but smiled, nevertheless. "Are you just going to stare at me?"
"Maybe," Rachel said with a nonchalant shrug.
Quinn laughed and stepped closer to Rachel, holding out her hand. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Rachel said, handing her the toothbrush. "You should wear that to bed."
"And why would I do that?" Quinn asked.
Rachel shrugged, still smiling. "I'm going to get a glass of water. Would you like one?"
Quinn shook her head and began walking away, but stopped when Quinn said, "Wait."
"Yes?" Rachel asked, turning around.
"Can you put these back in the drawer?" Quinn asked, throwing the pajama pants to Rachel with a slight smirk.
"That's much better, guys!" Mr. Schue said loudly. "Sam, watch when you step left; you're moving too close to Tina. Crystal, spin a little faster; you're out of sync with Mike and Brittany by just a little bit. Otherwise, great job. I have no doubt we'll be going on to Regionals this year! Okay, five minute break and then we'll try it again!"
Quinn sighed. They had been rehearsing for hours and they were just now getting through the whole thing without a major mishap. They were nowhere near perfect, but they were at least a little better than when they started. She definitely wasn't quite as optimistic as their teacher; they still had a long way to go and only two days to do it in. Right now, everything was still very sloppy, and from what Rachel had said about the Warblers, she didn't think they would be able to beat them.
"Dude, I'm exhausted," Puck complained, sitting down on the spot.
"It's not that bad," Quinn said with a shrug.
"Yeah, well, you got like superpowers," Puck mumbled, running his hand over his mohawk.
"I don't and I'm perfectly fine," Rachel said as she walked closer to them.
Quinn softly laughed, but then stopped when she saw the look on Rachel's face. "What's wrong?"
"Look at the back of the auditorium," Rachel whispered.
Quinn looked to the back of the room and immediately saw what Rachel was talking about. There was a demon standing near the door and it looked like it was watching them. Its skin was tinged red and she could see from where she stood that it was huge—well over six feet tall—and had sharp claws.
"What do we do?" Rachel asked.
"What's everyone staring at?" Tina asked as she walked up to them. "Oh my god. What is that?"
"Be quiet," Quinn commanded. "Can you guys distract everyone?"
"We can try," Rachel said, immediately walking to the opposite side of the stage.
"What are you going to do?" Tina asked her.
"Kill it," Quinn replied. "And hope no one sees."
"Can everyone gather around for a moment?" Rachel asked.
"We're on a break," Finn whined.
"I'm aware of that, Finn, but there is something I would like to say," Rachel replied.
Quinn jumped off the stage and ran up the aisle. She glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching her, but the only eyes on her were Puck and Tina's. She had no idea what she was going to do—she was completely weaponless—but she did know she needed to get the demon out of the auditorium. Not only did she not want everyone to see it, but she also didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt. Luckily, school had been out for hours, so the rest of the building should be deserted at that point.
She knew she had to keep things quiet until she got into the hall, so she didn't engage the demon. Instead, at the back of the auditorium, she went down one of the rows and vaulted over the chairs. Once she was behind the demon, she ran through the doors, and hoped it would follow her. Thankfully, she wasn't disappointed; the demon walked out after her and Quinn took a few steps back, putting some distance between them.
The demon seemed to take that as a sign to attack, though, and it rushed at her. Quinn ducked and the demon hit the lockers instead of her, leaving a huge gash across several of them. She kicked the demon's leg, causing it to fall forward a bit into the lockers, and then it returned a kick of its own. It knocked Quinn back, making her slide several feet on the linoleum. She quickly scrambled back to her feet, barely dodging the demon's claws again.
As they traded blows, the sound of one of the other doors opening made her heart skip a beat, but when she looked over her shoulder, it was only Puck. He looked at her for a moment and then began running down the hall in the opposite direction. In the moment she looked away, the demon grabbed her, throwing her again the row of lockers. She hit the floor, landing hard on her wrist. She cringed in pain as she stood, holding the wrist with her other hand.
Quinn began backing down the hall as she tried to think of the best course of action. She couldn't imagine how she was going to kill it with nothing, and all her weapons were in the training room. She wondered if she began running if the demon would follow her, but she was afraid to try it. For all she knew, it could walk back into the auditorium and go after the people who couldn't defend themselves. She needed to do something, though.
"Here!" Puck yelled out.
Quinn looked over her shoulder just as Puck tossed a sword to her. She caught it at the last moment with her good hand, and as she turned back to the demon, she swung the sword. In one, swift motion, the demon's head flew off and its body fell to the floor, oozing a purple substance from its neck.
"Thanks," Quinn said, holding her other wrist close to her body.
"Thank your girlfriend," Puck replied. "She thought you might need something to take care of it."
"She was right," Quinn said, smiling to herself.
Quinn could tell Rachel was staring at her again and sighed. "I'm okay."
"I didn't say anything," Rachel replied.
"No, but you were going to," Quinn said, glancing up.
Rachel huffed. "Fine."
Quinn looked back to the book in front of her, but she knew Rachel's eyes were still on her. Sure enough, a few moments later, Rachel asked, "Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"
Quinn looked up and could see the concern in her girlfriend's eyes. She smiled softly and reached out for Rachel's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She knew Rachel meant well and that she was just worried. If the roles were reversed, Quinn knew she would be the exact same way, so she really couldn't blame the brunette. In fact, if it had been Rachel, Quinn would have physically dragged Rachel to the emergency room if she had to.
"It already feels better," Quinn said. "I promise. I'm sure it will be completely healed within a few days."
Rachel looked like she wanted to argue, but then her shoulders slumped slightly and she went back to looked at her book. "Okay, but if you change your mind—"
"You'll be the first to know," Quinn replied, giving her hand another squeeze before letting it go.
Quinn watched Rachel for a few seconds and then smiled, looking down at her book again. She flipped the page, scanning the text for anything relevant. Just as she was about to turn to the next page, the caption under the picture caught her eye. She quickly turned the page to read on.
"Do you want to take a break?" Rachel asked. "Quinn."
"Hold on," Quinn replied. "I think I found something."
"Something about Dustin?" Rachel asked.
"Do we have Wexler's Compendium?" Quinn asked.
"I believe so," Rachel said, standing, and walking over to the bookcase. "Yes, here it is."
"Let me see it," Quinn replied.
Quinn quickly inserted one of the sheets of paper to save her spot before opening the other book. She hurriedly flipped through it, finally stopping on a page near the middle of the book. She read the pages while Rachel looked on in concern. When she finally reached the end of the section, she sat back with a heavy sigh.
"What's wrong, Quinn?" Rachel asked. "Is it about the warlock?"
"It's about the spell," Quinn stated. "Fryial, Jouck, Yarew—they're three parts of an old ritual."
"So what does this mean?" Rachel asked.
"It basically says Fryial is the beginning, Jouck is when the caster becomes immortal, and Yarew is the end," Quinn answered.
Rachel frowned as she sat down. "The end? Does that mean—"
"It brings the apocalypse," Quinn interrupted.
"When is it going to happen?" Rachel asked.
"Four moons," Quinn stated.
"From when?" Rachel asked. "From the first spell?"
"I think that's what it's saying," Quinn replied.
"Okay," Rachel said, grabbing a nearby piece of paper. "Four moons. That's around twenty-eight days, right. So four would be—"
"Twenty-nine and a half," Quinn corrected.
"Okay, then, twenty-nine and a half times four," Rachel said, scribbling it down on the piece of paper. "And if we're to assume it began around the time those rituals were being done, that should put it around—" Rachel pulled out her phone as Quinn waited, "Christmas."
"That's only a month from now," Quinn remarked.
She groaned and rested her head against her hand. She hated this; she hated knowing the fate of the world rested on her shoulders. At least she knew what the warlock was doing now, but she still had no idea who he was or where she could find him. And even if she knew those things, how was she going to stop him? She had seen how powerful Brittany could be and she had only been practicing for less than a year. She could only imagine what kind of power this warlock could have.
"Are you okay, Quinn?" Rachel asked, looking at her in concern.
"How am I going to stop him?" Quinn asked. "How do you stop someone who is immortal?"
"You'll figure it out," Rachel replied. "We'll figure it out."
"Why couldn't we have found this sooner," Quinn said, shaking her head.
"Because there are hundreds of books that take forever to go through," Rachel stated. "There's nothing you could have done differently, Quinn. Just be glad you found it when you did." She reached out and grabbed Quinn's hand. "You found it before it was too late. We'll make it through this; we always do. As soon as Sectionals are over tomorrow, we'll put all our focus on finding every little thing we can find. I'm sure if I ask Tina, she'll be happy to help, and I'm sure Brittany and Santana will as well."
Quinn nodded. "I know; it just feels—"
"Impossible at the moment," Rachel finished for her, squeezing her hand. "I know."
Quinn smiled softly as she looked at the brunette. "What would I do without you?"
"I'm sure you would do just fine," Rachel replied. "You're the Slayer, after all."
"Maybe, but you always know what I need to hear," Quinn said. "You keep me from going crazy doing this."
Rachel smiled. "That's because I love you."
Quinn tugged on Rachel's hand, bringing her forward until their lips met. For the next twenty-four hours, she was going to try to put all of this out of her mind and focus on Sectionals. After this, winning didn't seem very important, but she knew it was still important to Rachel, which meant she would do everything she could to win it for her.
Quinn watched as Rachel wrung her hands together and walked around the lobby. She was trying to listen to whatever Tina and Mike were saying, but she couldn't seem to take her eyes off her girlfriend. She wanted to give Rachel a little space—she knew the brunette liked to concentrate before a competition—but all she wanted to do was be near her.
"Quinn?"
The blonde hummed and looked at Tina. "What did you say?"
Tina laughed lightly. "Why don't you go over there?"
"You clearly want to," Mike added.
"Rachel likes to go over everything in her head before we go on," Quinn stated.
"I'm sure she's already done that five times," Tina replied.
Quinn sighed. "Maybe."
"Go," Tina said, pushing her toward Rachel when Quinn hesitated.
Quinn began walking toward Rachel, but stopped several feet away from her as the other girl continued to walk around. Eventually, Rachel looked in her direction, though, and smiled. Quinn really didn't want to interrupt her pre-performance ritual, but when Rachel held out her hand, Quinn figured it would be okay.
"Apparently I was staring, so Tina made me come over," Quinn commented. "She was probably just tired of me not listening to her."
Rachel laughed. "That's quite alright. I believe I am fully prepared now."
"Too bad everyone else isn't," Quinn said, glancing over her shoulder.
Finn was in the corner of the room, looking as if he was going to throw up, while Sam and Puck were both mouthing the words to the songs. Quinn assumed they were trying to remember their lines since both of them had messed them up during their last rehearsal. After that, Quinn had a little talk with both of them about not messing this up for Rachel, and she assumed she had successfully scared them into taking it a little more seriously.
"I'm still confident we'll pull through," Rachel said with a determined nod.
"Hey, guys," Blaine said, noticing them as he walked past.
"Hello, Blaine," Rachel greeted.
"This is exciting, isn't it!" he said with a big smile. "There's nothing like knowing you're about to be in front of an audience."
"She does live for this," Quinn remarked.
"Well, I just want to wish you guys good luck," Blaine said.
"Thank you, Blaine," Rachel replied. "Good luck to you as well. Is Kurt around?"
"He was in the hallway over there the last time I checked," Blaine answered. "I think he's nervous about performing with us. Well, I'll see you on stage."
"I should probably check on Kurt," Rachel commented.
"Can it wait a few minutes?" Quinn asked.
Rachel gave her a curious frown. "Yes, but wh—where are we going?"
Quinn began pulling her toward the bathroom, getting several looks along the way from their fellow Glee members. The bathroom was thankfully empty when she pulled her inside except for a woman washing her hands at the sink. Quinn waited patiently until the older woman finally walked past them and out the door. As soon as the door was shut, Quinn turned toward Rachel and crashed their lips together.
She didn't even really know what she was doing; she just knew she needed to be kissing Rachel and she would rather do it in private than in the lobby, surrounded by other people. She could tell by Rachel's tenseness that she was surprised by the sudden kiss, but after a few moments, her body fell into Quinn's and she wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck as their tongues tangled together. Quinn put her hands on Rachel's waist, trying to keep them at a respectable spot since anyone could walk in at any moment, and she really didn't want to get caught trying to feel up her girlfriend.
Quinn was beginning to not be able to stand it, though. She wanted Rachel all the time. Anytime she wasn't thinking about trying to stay alive—and even sometimes when she was—she was thinking about the brunette. She didn't exactly know when things changed, but she knew they had. Things were becoming more intense and she knew Rachel felt it, too. Every time they touched, she had to hold herself back, and she could tell Rachel was doing the exact same thing. The problem was, she really didn't know why either of them were holding back anymore, and it was becoming harder to do so.
"What was that for?" Rachel asked, panting slightly.
Quinn shrugged and gave Rachel a smile. "I guess that was my way of saying good luck."
"In that case, I may need a little more luck," Rachel said, grinning back at her.
"I think I can do that," Quinn replied, putting her forehead against Rachel's. "But I thought you were going to talk to Kurt."
"Two more minutes," Rachel whispered.
"Two more minutes," Quinn agreed as she leaned in for another kiss.
The next chapter will be a week later than usual; I'm currently working on 30 Days to Love, so I had to push everything back.