A/N: Not a long chapter, but I felt the urge to write so I did. I haven't decided on an update schedule for this one yet so I'm trying to do it whenever I can or when the mood strikes me. I'll eventually nail it down. Probably. Thank you all for all your support!
"Dorian."
The name fell from Victoria's lips like a drop of poison. Even if the room hadn't been nearly frosted over she still would have felt like she'd been thrust into a walk-in freezer. Her blood slowed in her veins, a sickening twist of her guts trying to ignite her to run.
But she couldn't because she was in the circle and he wasn't.
Swallowing thickly, she straightened herself, releasing her pendant from the desperate clutch of her fingers and eyed the demon. He hadn't changed at all. Still sported his slicked back hair with the side part, the strands as dark as night and matching his nearly black irises. Or maybe they were black, honestly she never got close enough to tell. Of all the fucking creatures to pop up.
"You look as lovely as ever." He flashed her a smile that revealed teeth and reignited her desire to flee.
"Don't bullshit me." Victoria snapped at him, nerves rattling her voice. She knew her hair was a mess and her arms and legs still bore the Lichtenberg figures from her earlier brush with lightning.
Those too-dark eyes traced the designs branded temporarily into her flesh with too much attention. She grabbed her jacket and shoved her arms through the sleeves. Neither of them spoke for a beating second and then Dorian took a step left, beginning to pace and Victoria pivoted to keep him in sight. That seemed to amuse him because he cast her a smaller smile.
"You've been awfully busy lately." He spoke with absolute certainty, as he always did. "Your house has recently gone entirely off the grid. When was the last time you went to such lengths to shield yourself? Six, seven years ago?"
Victoria kept her mouth shut. She wasn't about to tell him it had been eleven years. Whatever Dorian was after he wanted badly enough to manifest here during a cleansing. And if it was that important to him, she couldn't allow him to get it.
"Why so quiet?" Dorian asked when she didn't respond. He continued his circle around her slowly. Dark eyes traced the salt line with disinterest. "You're being particularly cautious lately. Could it be that you've encountered something that put the fear of-for lack of a better term-god into you?"
Blue eyes glanced down toward the herbs and the incense then the bag. What she had out wasn't enough, not for Dorian.
"Don't do it, Victoria. We both know it won't work." He sighed, put out with her. "You can't exorcise me."
"I know." She wet her lips and crouched, pulling her handgun from the safety of the duffle bag, holding it carefully at her side.
"This again." He gestured with a laugh. "Darling, you'd think you'd learn."
"Get lost." She told him coldly. "I'm not going to tell you anything."
"What came out of that house, Victoria? What did you allow to follow you home?" Dorian stepped to the line of salt his smile fading to nothing. "What are you protecting?"
Victoria raised the gun, leveling it at his chest. "Back off, Dorian."
It happened all at once. A rush of events strung together precariously by the limits of human memory. Victoria pulled the trigger. Dorian stepped over the salt, crushing the clove cigarette she dropped. She wasn't actually sure which had happened first. But the bullet found its home, embedded in the demon's ribs and his hand curled around her throat, hoisting her off her feet to dangle in his grip. Even still she fired off two more shots before he batted the gun out of her hand. Wind tore through the space, destroying her circle and upsetting her ritual. The pages of her grimoire shifted in the gust. It chilled her to her very bones.
"Your pathetic little safety measures don't work on me." Dorian hissed the words at her, squeezing as she grabbed at his fingers, trying to pry them off of her. "You could have made this easy, Victoria. You could have made an ally today."
"I saw-" She choked out, "-will-o-wisps. At the lake."
Dorian tilted his head and released his hold. She hit the ground with a gasp, both for air and at the pain that radiated through her ankle which twisted under the brunt of her full body weight. Wincing, she placed a palm over the joint over the leather of her boot and then glared up at him.
"Interesting." He stated evenly. "What else?"
"Something is happening." Victoria breathed shallowly, her throat incredibly sore from his crushing grip. Her voice sounded rougher, even to her own ears. "You've noticed it too."
"Yes and I think you know what's causing it." He informed her. "The circle in that house, it was like nothing I've ever seen. What came out of it?"
"I don't know." She lied, blatantly and without regard for the consequences. Let Dorian kill her. She couldn't lead him back to the boys. Not while they were defenseless. "Wait."
He smirked at her, crouching down to stare into her eyes at her level.
"You sent me into that house." Victoria accused, glaring at him.
"I needed an expert." He informed her with that same dangerous smile. "Who else would I call on other than my old friend?"
"Fuck you. We are not-" She cried out as his hand wrapped around her injured ankle, fingers squeezing. When his grip relented she panted, sweating despite the chill. "Just fucking kill me already, you piece of shit. I'm not playing any more of your games."
"Kill you?" Dorian leant forward and on his hands, perched on his toes so he could stare directly into her face. His irises were black, as it turned out. That was something Victoria had never wanted to confirm. "Oh no, darling. You're far too useful to me right now. I can't allow something as valuable as you to die."
"No!" Her scream did nothing to prevent him from placing a kiss on her forehead. The gentle act was quickly countered by the immediate fire that spread through her veins searing behind her eyes and through her brain. She barely registered the demon chuckling in appreciation as she writhed from the pain, laying completely on the floor.
Dorian brushed her hair away from her face, tracing the contour of her cheek and jaw. "Come now, Victoria. That one was free of charge. There are worse things in the world."
"Yeah, you." She panted and her voice was obliterated now. Between the heat and the screaming and this sonuvabitch's iron grip she could barely recognize her own words. The fire had seeped away and left her with a headache to end all headaches.
"You'll stay alive and you'll find out what I need to know." Dorian informed her matter-of-factly.
"But that doesn't mean I'll ever tell you." She hissed at him, slowly sitting up as he watched.
"I'll get my information, darling. We'll either do it the boring way or the fun way. And you know how I love it when you put up a fight." He patted her cheek and she had half a mind to sink her teeth into his hand. "I've always admired that spirit of yours."
"Where's my gun?" She demanded looking around for the weapon. In a quick scurry on her hands and knees she bee lined for the weapon, grabbing it before rolling onto her back and using both hands to steady it on her target. "Get the fuck out of here, Dorian."
"If you insist. By the way, how quickly can you craft a new circle?" He asked, rising to his full height, hands in his pockets. "Just curious."
Victoria furrowed her brow and then relaxed for a second once the demon vanished from sight. It was always such a weird thing to see, because it took her brain a moment to register what happened. He was there one moment and then gone. Her reprieve was short lived because the minute she laid her head against the cold hardwood everything began moving again.
Including the furrows being raked into the floor. With a snarl she jerked herself upright and dashed for her bag but her ankle caused her to stumble. The entity in the house clawed at her calf and she hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. But she was within arm's length of her black bag so she grabbed it, trying to ignore the blood and searing pain as she desperately fished around what she needed.
It's amazing what you can do with a dollar store spray bottle, salt, water, and a mix of essential oils when it comes to cleaning the shit out of bad energy. She sprayed the enhanced moon water directly where the claw marks appeared next and the screeching began again. With quick, jerky movements she doused the floor around her with the spray, forming a quick circle. If she'd been Grams, she could have just visualized one. But she wasn't Grams and Dorian had ruined her ability to concentrate and she was furious and this needed to be over now.
With anger and fear lining every muscle fiber in her body, she got to her unsteady feet again. Inhaling deeply she closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her. Now that she had a moment of safety she tried to breath slower, focus. Visualize roots extending from her feet into the earth below. The screeching grew louder as she grounded herself. She didn't have enough energy for this shit. Not now.
But she had no other choice with her ritual ruined.
Fucking Dorian.
Flat footed and steady, her breathing even a tingle slithered up spine from her legs, then down her arms and it warmed her palms. Her broken ankle didn't matter, not right now. Neither did the cuts or the blood or the fact she sounded like Lindsay Lohan with laryngitis. All that mattered was that she was focused and this wailing, temper-tantrum throwing devil was about to be cast back to where it came from so hard it would be feeling the impact for centuries.
The water began to dry, her circle fading with that notion. It no longer mattered.
Blue eyes opened to slivers and she roared the only words she needed.
"GET THE FUCK OUT!"
The screeching cut off abruptly, the frost evaporating from the floor and windows. All at once the heat returned with its ugly humidity. The house was quiet and the warmth in her palms dissipated as she lowered her hands. Eyelids heavy, body swaying she simply stood for a moment. With a glance toward the cleared windows she realized it was already dark outside.
Well, shit.
When the Uber pulled up to her house, Victoria stared at truck in her driveway. A beat up old blue Ford with a bench seat and a stick shift. The thing had gone through enough engine work to be considered a new truck by her estimation. Every mechanical aspect of the vehicle having been replaced at least once in the last five years. Was it worth it to keep the old relic alive?
Yes. It was worth every lost goddamn penny.
If only for the sentimentality of it. The thing had belonged to her mom. It was one of the only things she'd left Victoria.
If the truck was here then it meant Billy had dropped it off for her. She'd had it in the shop for routine work that turned into all new brakes and some other expensive bullshit she didn't care about at the moment. She'd have to go into town and drop off a check for the mechanic but that could wait. No one would be there anyway, not at eleven thirty at night.
So she patted the tailgate as she passed it, limping her way to the front door. The lights were on in the living room. She guessed that meant Nessie was waiting up for her. She'd really cut it close to the wire on this one.
Fucking Dorian. Goddammit. If he hadn't shown up she'd have been done by lunch.
Taking a deep breath, she readied herself for Nessie's reaction before putting her keys in the lock. The guy driving the Uber had nearly had a heart attack when he saw her. He'd offered to call the cops if she was in trouble. Not that the cops could do anything for her, but he didn't know that so she'd called him sweet and tipped him way more than necessary. She turned her keys and stepped into the entry, dropping her bag and locking the door behind her.
To her surprise Nessie wasn't in the living room, but she heard voices from the back porch. Her eyes scanned over the living room before settling on Hiei in the kitchen. He had stopped whatever it was he'd been doing to stare at her. Then he yelled Kurama's name and the porch door flew open and the redhead rushed in to see what was wrong. Hiei gestured toward Victoria with a butter knife as Nessie came in hot on Kurama's heels.
"I'm tired." Victoria managed to say, fixed in place by the sudden drain she felt.
"Are you alright?" Kurama demanded walking over.
Nessie cut him off, running around him and grabbed Victoria's arm, helping the other woman limp into the living room. Green eyes narrowed as the brunette ordered Kurama to find the first aid kit. Hiei huffed when she demanded he bring her an ice pack.
"What happened to you?" Nessie fretted, examining the bruises marring Victoria's throat and then the claw marks on her leg before finally taking in the sight of her swollen ankle as Victoria kicked off her boots with little regard for blood or dirt she spilled on the carpet.
Just as Victoria was about to answer Hiei swore in Japanese, a plate crashing to the floor. Blue eyes closed and lips pursed as Victoria allowed herself to relax against the couch cushions. "An unexpected visitor."
"Is that your answer or are you talking about the plate?" Nessie demanded, grabbing the first aid kit from Kurama's hands as he presented it. The man sat on Victoria's right side, eyes roving over her with concern pinching the corners.
"Both." Victoria groaned. "Hey, Kurama, could you be a darling and get me some whiskey?"
"I'm not sure that's wise." He shook his head. "We don't know if you've injured your head."
"Hiei." Victoria turned to the shorter man when he presented a malleable ice pack. Whiskey. Please.
Hiei shrugged then nodded and quickly returned with the whole bottle and no glass. Kurama glared at him. "Drunk people talk Kurama, and you look like you want answers."
Kurama made a face then nodded and Hiei smirked back at him.
"So, this unexpected guest of yours, was it a Mack truck?" Nessie asked, prompting the conversation to get back on track as she used an ace bandage to fix the ice pack to Victoria's ankle. Then she started to clean the blood from the cuts. "What the hell did this?"
"Something angry. It did a lot of screaming. Honestly, this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for that dickhead showing up unannounced in the middle of my banishment ritual. I was almost there." Victoria lamented, annoyed. The whiskey burned so good as it coated her tongue and throat, easing some of the ache.
"What dickhead?" Nessie poured alcohol over the cuts and when Victoria swore at her she just told her to stop being a baby. "Vick, you look like shit."
"I feel like shit." Victoria grumped back. "I haven't fucking slept since I woke up yesterday morning. I got struck by lightning-"
"Nearly." Kurama amended.
"And then he showed up and I got mauled and had to do a banishment without any supplies and I'm exhausted." Her voice rose with each word, her frustration clear on her face. "Fucking Dorian."
"Dorian." Nessie's hands stopped and she stood up, having finished wrapped the wound in gauze. "Dorian showed up while you were alone. He did this to you?"
"This." Victoria gestured to her throat. "And the ankle. The scratches are from whatever it was that I sent packing."
"What did he want?"
"He wanted to know what came out of the circle I found." Victoria quieted down, bowing her head to look at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers. "He said he'd find out one way or the other."
"He could have killed you!" Nessie yelled, throwing her hands up. "Jesus, Vick. You could have died."
Kurama started at that, asking a bunch of questions all at once and Victoria just shushed them both with a quiet no.
"He wants me alive. He said I was too valuable. Then he kissed me on the forehead and I thought he was killing me anyway for a second. I think he," Victoria closed her eyes and fought back tears, "I think he did something to me. I don't know what. But I don't like it."
"Who is Dorian?" Kurama asked, matching his tone to Victoria's.
"He's a demon. Not like you or Hiei. Something else." She informed him, exhausting lining every word. "A powerful, malicious being who cannot be trusted. He works in trades normally, contracts. But this wasn't that. He's not to be taken lightly and quite frankly if he wants something I'd rather die than give it to him."
"Why would he kiss you?" The redhead was trying to be delicate, it rang clear in his tone.
Victoria just shook her head. "I don't know. It was a seal of some kind. Whatever it is, it can't be good. Dorian and I, we've crossed paths before. A few times. When I was younger I asked him for help with something and ever since he's popped up randomly. But this is the first time this has happened."
"Why would you ask a creature like that for help?" Kurama glanced at Nessie, who was gesturing for him to stop talking.
"Because I wasn't able to do what I thought needed to be done. In the end, neither was he. Our contract was nullified and I think that's why he likes to follow me from time to time." She responded, wetting her lips and lifting her head.
"What needed to be done so badly? What couldn't he accomplish?"
"Kurama, shut up." Nessie interjected hotly. "You're asking some personal questions right now and Vick has been through enough."
"I wanted him to save my mom." Victoria shook as she spoke the words, a tear already escaping her eye. "Just, I was a scared kid and I didn't want to lose my mom. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing I could do."
"Vick." Nessie sat on the couch and wrapped her arms around the other woman, stroking her purple hair and shooting the most scathing glare in her arsenal at the redhead. "Ask one more question and I'll make you regret being born."
"I'm so sorry, Victoria." Kurama ignored the threat and rested a hand on Victoria's shoulder, squeezing gently. "So, terribly sorry."
Victoria just continued to cry into Nessie's shoulder as Kurama rubbed her back. While the two of them comforted the woman Hiei watched from the kitchen glad he hadn't been caught in the crossfire of whatever emotional outburst this was. Instead, he ate the sandwich he'd been making when Victoria had come home. He'd been able to see her injuries when he'd brought her the ice pack and whiskey. None were life threatening.
Kurama would fill him in later, he was certain. There was no need for him to involve himself in whatever the hell was happening.
He would never admit it, but he'd been relieved when the woman had returned. She'd promised she could get them home and her friend had seemed to believe her. That meant Victoria needed to survive. She had to. Without her they were lost and as much as he hated relying on anyone else, this situation meant he had little choice.
So he chewed his sandwich and watched the three idiots console each other from a safe distance.