Chapter Eighteen

John didnt speak to her as he got dressed in a fresh pair of clothes that he had delivered to the room.. It was extremly uncomfortable to be around him like this and so she finally spoke as he sat at a table eating the left over food she had..

"You know this plan could work" she finally said as he continued to eat and not look at her.."its a protection spell"

He stopped eating now and looked at her.."you know then why dont you go and ask Michael to help you" he snapped at her but it soundly like he was oddly jealous.."Oh right cause he cant get near mitch" he said sarcastically..

"Listen I know that you and Michael have your differences" she began softly as he looked at her hard now and shoved his plate aside..

"its a little bit more than just differences" he said with a tight jaw as he got up from the table..

"it could get me close to Mitch and then, well you could get the ring and then we could get the book" she said quickly as he looked at her..

"here you go again with the 'we' crap" he snapped.."im going alone to see Mitch and im getting my ring back and then you know what, im leaving for good, where no one can find me" he snapped as he walked away and she stood there more than shocked..

Finally she ran after him as he began to get his jacket on.."you cant do this, you promised you would help me"

"I never promised that, I promised your uncle that I would keep you safe but that was when I had invited you along but now, well now all bets are off" he snapped at her...

"so thats it, your just gonna get your ring and run off" she said in shock..

"pretty much" he fixed his jacket..

"wow you really are self absorbed" she said with a shake of her head..

"dont act so surprised, you already knew this from the beginning" he said dryly..

"No...you cant do this, how could you do this" she said with her voice shaking..

He laughed a little now.."come Natalie, you already spoke to my brother, you should of listened to him and stayed away" he turned from her now and she was so mad, so upset, she ran up to him and grabbed his arm..

"why are you doing this, why" she yelled at him..

"cause thats who I am!" he snapped at her as he yanked his arm back.."now if you dont mind I have somewhere I need to be" he got to the door as she stood there completely stunned.. He actually felt bad for what he was doing, he felt torn but he also knew that if he involved her she could get hurt, spell or no spell.. He quickly opened the door but before he could walk out two rather large men, demons actually stood there and smiled..

"well look who we have here" one of the demons said with a smile..

Natalie's eyes got wide as she stood there and she quickly ran to the bedroom to retrieve her knife..

"get the girl" one of the demons yelled to the other as John lunged at the bigger one and they crashed into the adjacent wall..

Natalie nearly fell as she got in the room and stumbled to get her knife but the demon had gotten in the room fast and he stood in the doorway, blocking her from getting out as she heard the crahsing and breaking of objects in the other room..

"nowhere to go huh" the demon smiled at her, revealing large sharp teeth, she looked to the bathroom and then at him, he eyeballed It too and then she took off running but she wasnt fast enough as he grabbed her hair from behind, yanking her back as she cried out.."now that wasnt very nice" the demon whispered in her ear and she elbowed him in the gut hard as he let go of her and she darted into the bathroom but he was right on her tail as he grabbed her once more, she grabbed the hair dryer that was on the counter and swung it at him, hitting him right in the face as he stumbled back some and it gave her the perfect oppourtunity to run past him and towards her knife that had now fallen on the floor.

She slid across the floor as she lunged for it but the demon was much faster and soon he had her pinned on her back as he got on top of her.."oh now this im going to enjoy" he smiled as held her arms down and moved his face to hers and she spit on him..

"fuck you" she yelled at him and then his eyes were turning red as he opened his mouth revealing those damn teeth again..

"No darling, your the one who is fucked" he smiled wide and then leaned down to bite her but she pushed her knee up hard and got him right in the gut which made him loosen the grip on one of her hands and he slapped her hard across the face.."stupid bitch" he yelled and she reached for the knife and within seconds she plunged it into his back as his eyes opened wide in shock and he yelled out as he fell off of her and she quickly scrambled to her feet..

"whose fucked now, asshole" she yelled at the dead demon and then her attention was brought back to the livingroom where a fight continued. She grabbed her knife from the back of the now lifeless demon and she took off..

The place looked like a damn tornado had hit it, the table was over turned as well as the chairs and a huge hole was in the wall. John and demon continued to struggle on the ground now, both of them a bloody mess as Natalie ran up but the demon saw her coming as he jumped off of John and ran towards her..

"Natalie!" John yelled as he got up and the demon slammed her with significant force onto the ground, causing the knife to fly out of her hand..

"Too late" the demon laughed and then he was grabbing Natalie's head as black smoke began to pour from his mouth but surprisingly it didnt engulf her and the demons eyes got wide as he looked at her..

"your the one who is too late" John yelled as he drove the knife into the back of the neck of the demon as it yelled out and then fell lifelessly onto natalie..John stood over them for a moment as he looked at the demon who had almost possessed Natalie and then he was grabbing the lifeless body and tossing it aside as Natalie gasped.."are you ok" he said with overwhelming concern that shocked her..

"i think so" she said as tried to sit up and then she realized that she couldnt feel her legs, she couldnt feel anything from the waist down.."somethings wrong, I cant feel...I cant feel my legs" she panicked as John knelt down..

"dont move, its your spine, its severed" he said as her eyes got wide..

"what? Severed" she was damn near shouting..

"Just dont move" he pushed her back down.."You could do more damage"

"Damage? I cant feel my fucking legs" she began to yell and then he was putting his on her head.."what are you doing"

"damn it Natalie just shut up ok" he yelled at her as he put his hand on her head and closed his eyes..

"dont yell at me" she yelled at him, she was almost in tears, what if she was paralized, what then? She wouldnt be able to hunt, she wouldnt be able to do anything..But then something began to happen, she felt warmth on her head and it was radiating down her body giving her an odd sensation.."what are you doing" she said as her heart began to race and then the room began to spin some.."John...what the hell...is...happening...to ….me" she said as darkness began to cover her eyes and the last thing she saw was John staring at her..

"your ok, your gonna be ok" he said damn near breathless and then everything went black..

Natalie's head pounded as she blinked her eyes open, it was dark and she jumped up quickly as memories flooded her head..

"Hey,..your ok" John said as he came over through the dimmed room.."try not to move too much" he said as she blinked a bit more..

"what happened, where are we" she said as she looked around disoriented, she moved her legs some and gasped.."My legs, I...i can feel them" she said with confusion as she continued to move them..

"i know but your going to be sore" he said as he looked down at her legs and then he backed up some, he had a strange look on his face, she couldnt decipher it..

"did you...do this?" she said a bit in shock.."you can heal people"

"apparently so, its the first time I tried" he said uncomfortably and then he was walking across the room and looking out a window, she was in shock, he had healed her. He could heal, how was that if his powers had been taken from him, she didnt understand. She stood up on wobbily legs, he was right, she was sore, extremly sore..

She looked around the room some more, it looked like a cabin.. John stared out the window, he had taken her to an abandoned cabin on the outskirts of Milan, he had to think fast and it was the only place he could think of. He had been there years ago, he had kept it for a safe house so to speak, it was protected with spells and what not, he never had to use it for such well until now..

They were deep in the woods away from everything, his mind was still shocked though, as shocked as hers cause he had healed her, he hadnt healed anyone since, well since he was with the men upstairs..He really wasnt sure what compelled him to do it either, he just did. He was panicked to say the least, I mean she was paralized and he would of done just about anything to fix that and apparently he did and he didnt know what that meant..

"where are we" she asked as she stood across the room, he finally looked at her and sighed..

"You really should work on taking directions from people" he said dryly.." its a cabin outside of town, they cant come here" he said as he walked away from the window.."You need to sit, your body still needs to heal"

"i feel ok" she said honestly..."sore but ok" , if he could heal people didnt that mean he was one of the good guys, I mean evil never healed, evil took and that was that..

"I'll get you something to drink" he said as he left the room and she looked around some more. The place was lit with candles, it looked like it hadnt been lived in for years.. He walked back in the room with two glasses in his hand.."its all I have here, but atleast its aged well" he said as he handed her the glass..

"thanks" she said a bit uncomfortably as she took a sip, it was red wine and it tasted wonderful right about now, especially since she was absolutely parched..

"were going to have to get out of town" he finally said as she looked at him.."Mitch sent those men, so he knows about you" he sipped his drink..

"i guess he did have a look out" she said as guilt raced through her, she had brought them there by acting petty..John just looked at her as if to say 'told you so'.."How come the spell on my ribs didnt work" she asked, she didnt understand what went wrong, Michael had said the spell would keep her from harm and paralizing her was definitely harming her..

"those spells can only keep you from being killed, it doesnt stop you from breaking bones or in your case paralizing you" he said dryly as he walked across the room..

"thank you for fixing me" she finally said as he stood with his back turned..

He didnt say anything for a moment and then he walked over to the fire place.."im gonna need to find some wood, it'll be freezing in here soon" he finished as he left the room and now she sat back down, her mind still swarming with thoughts, he had saved her, healed her..

He wasnt gone long when he came back with an armful of wood and he began putting it in the fireplace..She finally spoke.."how long have you had this place" she needed to make small talk, cause this silence was horrible..

"a while" was all he said as he began to light the fire.."we'll leave in the morning, you'll have your strength back then" he still didnt look at her..

"and then where do we go?" she said as he stiffened some..

"your going back to the states" he said quickly..

"what? And what about you" she said as she began to stand and she winced in pain, he quickly came over..

"you need to sit and you are going back, I already called Bo and he will have someone waiting at the airport for you" he said quickly and she blinked in shock..

"You talked to Bo" she was completely beside herself now..

"he wouldnt stop calling your cell phone, I finally picked up" he said dryly.."your going back"

"No...no, im not" she said as she shook her head..

"this is not up for discussion, now sit before you hurt yourself" he said as he pushed on her shoulders but she grabbed his arms and kept standing..

"where are you going, are you going to see him? Are you going to Mitch" she said seriously as she held onto his hands that were on her arms..

"sit" he said again as she did so now, only cause her legs felt so weak..

"I want to go, we can do this together" she said as he turned from her.."John, I can help you"

He turned now and looked at her.."No Natalie, you cant..this is something I have to do and your not going, end of story, your going on that damn plane and your heading back" he snapped at her..

"why, you said yourself that they cant kill me" she said loud..

"somethings are worse than death, trust me" he said cryptically..

"No...im not going back, im not going back without that book" she said defiantly..

"damn it Natalie no your not, I wont allow you to be put in harms way like that again" he said in a deadly serious tone and it actually shocked her, was that concern she heard from him?.."this isnt a game Natalie, Mitch has plans for you and trust me you would be begging for death by the time he is done with you" he spun from her again..

"and what about you, your just gonna barge in there and do what" she stood up again as he spun and looked at her, he looked down right pissed.."you said yourself that he could find a way to kill you"

"then so be it" he walked out of the room as she sat there in shock, did he want to die, was that it? Cause it surely seemed that way, she forced her legs to walk into the room he went into, it was a kitchen, everything was so outdated in here, it was odd especially since he usually went overboard with everything..He was standing by the sink, the room was only dimly lit as she stood in the door way.."You really are stubborn" he said without looking at her..

"i wont let you go there to get killed" she said as he turned and faced her..

"a few days ago you would of jumped at the oppourtunity to kill me" he said with a shake of his head..

"yeah well...i wont...i mean...you cant do this ok, you just cant" she began to ramble her words..

"do you know what its like to be alive for hundreds of years, to spend your life wishing you could die and yet your cursed with being immortal, its a nightmare, this life is a nightmare and I would much rather live it out in hell then to have to stay here and.." his voice trailed and she was absolutely shocked by his admission.."this is my choice and no one will stop me, not you not anyone" he went to walk past her and she grabbed his arm, stopping him so that he was right next to her..

"there is other ways to do this than death, you healed me John, you wouldnt of been able to do that if " she began as he looked at her now..

He cut her off.."what? If I was still one of the good guys?" he shook his head.."Im not ok...and I never will be again and that is my choice" he said seriously..

"but...John...i … could...we could...there is something that could be" she began to ramble, her words were getting stuck in her throat and she was shocked by the emotion coming from her...

"You should get some sleep" he said and then he was walking away from her and down the hall as she stood there, she sucked back the tears that threatened to fall.. He wanted to die and she couldnt stop him, the thought was absolutely heart breaking..She thought of what Michael said about her wanting to save him and that he couldnt be saved, she didnt believe that, she wouldnt. He had healed her and that meant something, it had to.

She quickly headed down the hall on a mission, she saw a light from under one of the doors and she opened it as he turned and looked at her, he was shirtless now and his shoes and socks were off.. My god he looked broken, it killed her..

"I wont let you do this" she finally spoke as he looked at her and shook his head..

"you cant stop me natalie, if I have to I will personally lock you on that plane" he said quickly..

"this isnt right damn it" she yelled now..

"Look at me natalie, take a good look, do you want to know how I spent the last hundred years" he said loud.."i have killed, stolen and helped those that you hunt."

She walked over to him.."You healed me, you could of left me for dead or worse but you didnt" she said with emotion..

"yeah well your no good to me dead or paralized" he said quickly.."i cant fuck a paralized girl, I mean I could but it would be weird" he laughed bitterly..

"this isnt a joke and you know it" she snapped at him as she stepped closer..

"i healed you cause im a selfish bastard natalie, I wanted one last romp before lights out" he said dryly..

"now whose lying" she said quickly.."thats not why you did it"

"oh so now you know my motives" he said sarcastically.."did you think it was because I cared about you?" he said with a roll of his eyes..

"yes" she forced the words out..

"well than your wrong" he said quickly and then turned from her as he headed across the room..

"i know you care, I know" she yelled out and he looked out the window.."I know cause I...i care too damn it" she yelled as she breathed heavy..He turned and looked at her shocked, almost as she shocked as she felt for saying it but it was true, she did care..

"Without You"

Search for the answers I knew all along
I lost myself, we all fall down
Never the wiser of what I've become
Alone I stand, a broken man

All I have is one last chance
I won't turn my back on you
Take my hand, drag me down
If you fall then I will too
And I can't save what's left of you

[Chorus:]
Sing something new
I have nothing left
I can't face the dark without you
There's nothing left to lose
The fight never ends
I can't face the dark without you

Swallow me under and pull me apart
I understand, there's nothing left
Pain so familiar and close to the heart
No more, no less, I won't forget

Come back down, save yourself
I can't find my way to you
And I can't bear to face the truth

[Chorus]

I wanted to forgive
I'm trying to forget
Don't leave me here again
I am with you forever, the end

[Chorus]

Holding the hand that holds me down
I forgive you, forget you, the end
Holding the hand that holds me down
I forgive you, forget you, the end