Astrid, Nathan and Chelsea
Nathan huffed slightly as he finally walked into Tulsa.
First of all, he'd been holed up in a warehouse due to demons for several days. Then, when the demons finally left, the police showed up. So he'd spent even more time in a jail cell. He had a job to do! And trying not to act insane and stave off the vision fits while in jail had been even harder. He had wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Being classified as a mental case and being commited was not what he had in mind.
He looked up at the darkening sky and quickened his step.
~*~*~*~
Astrid bowed her head before Ashtoreth, kneeling on one knee.
"My lady."
"My angel," Ashtoreth said, smiling.
"Your will?"
"Go find that Seer and dispose of him. He has far too big a mouth. Close it. Permantly."
Chelsea started and then seemed to withdraw in on herself.
Astrid stood.
"I would be glad too."
She turned on her heel and left, wings fluttering slightly. Chelsea choked as the leash attached to her collar jerked and hurried after the dark angel.
Nathan and Astrid
Astrid sprialled down into the streets of Tulsa, revelling in the darkness that now cloaked the earth.
Nathan spun and dusted a vampire before running again. Damn. He wasn't going to survive the night if he couldn't find some place to hide in.
She landed in front of him with a flare of her wings, almost appearing like a represantation of an avenging angel from a painting. She watched him with amused eyes as he pulled up short and almost fell over.
"Seer."
Nathan spat at her and turned to run the other way.
"Oh, a hunt. How...fun. But it's all going to end the same!" she called after him as he fled.
"Your blood on my lips, and your body impaled on my sword!"
"Not yet," Nathan hissed and found an extra turn of speed from somewhere.
Nathan pulled up into a tree, then started to run over the rooftops lightly.
Not that going up was going to save him. Maybe if he could...but there would be demons in the sewers.
Astrid rose into the air and soared after him, smiling slightly.
Foolish mortal.
She was a being of the heights.
"Do you want to know what happened to your little follower?" she called sweetly.
"She's chained, and leashed. Little puppy dog...I drink her blood. It's sweet, like candy."
Nathan gritted his teeth in anger as he fled.
Astrid, Nathan and Mouse
Astrid tormented him for a few moments longer then knocked into him, sending him crashing off the roof. Nathan hit a tree and slowly slid to the ground, panting for breath and leg aching. He tried to rise, then collapsed again as his limbs failed to support him. Astrid floated to the earth, wings beating slowly.
"And here you are at my feet again, Seer."
"You don't win, you don't," Nathan spat.
"I've Seen it."
"What is Seen, does not always come to pass," Astrid said arrogantly.
"She will betray you, and you. Will. Burn."
"Perhaps...but that would be Her choice," Astrid said.
"Ashtoreth is the Merciless Defender, Brighter then the Stars of Heaven and the Sun. It is an honour to serve her."
"So tamed, so collared. Does She ring a bell when She summons you?"
Astrid slapped him across the face, face distorted into an angry snarl. She threw him across the yard and he crashed into a fence, feeling his ribs crack as he moaned on pain, dizzy and disorientated.
"Shut your mouth! I think it is time for you to die."
Astrid raised her sword and Nathan closed his eyes.
Astrid screamed and dropped her sword as a spinning whirlwind of fur and claws attached itself to her face, squalling with fury.
"HEL!"
Nathan panted rapidly as the huge cat attacked the winged woman, unable to move.
~*~*~*~
Fafnir got up and stalked restlessly over to the window, staring out at the street and ears pricked forward.
"What is it?" Mouse asked sleepily.
Something...something dark hunts this night. Something terrible...
The wolf whined slightly, eyes fixed out on the street.
A terrible scream rent the air, and he cowered slightly.
Mouse sat up, looking worried.
~*~*~*~
Astrid's wings beat around her face as she tried to dislodge the cat, fingers clawing at it in an attempt to kill it.
Nathan watched, winded and unable to move yet.
Taylor
Taylor tapped his fingers on the table in thought.
"Perhaps I could be of service," Bee offered, appearing behind him.
Taylor jumped.
"Ah... oh, yeah. Yeah, you probably could."
He looked around for a moment.
"Mouse? We're going out. Is Fafnir coming?"
MOuse, Astrid and Nathan
"He can lead you to...whatever it is," Mouse said, and looked frustrated.
"And I'll stay behind...as usual."
Fafnir loped to the door and pawed at it, whining.
Let's go! Something important is happening.
~*~*~*~
Astrid clawed at the cat's back as it savaged her face with claws and teeth.
Nathan squinted slightly as he watched the battle.
That cat...it wasn't normal.
Astrid flung the cat to the ground, and it hit lightly, twisting to land on its feet.
She panted, rivulets of blood running down her face and deep scratches and teethmarks furrowing her skin. She flexed her hands slowly as she looked at the cat.
RK hissed and spat at her, standing between the possessed mutant and Nathan.
"Begone!"
"And who are you, to intefere?" Astrid snarled.
"I am who I am. Go, before I kill you properly."
"You cannot."
"Can't I?"
Astrid picked up her sword and it flashed in the streetlight's flickering illumination.
RK's back arched.
"Come on and try it. You won't have him."
"He will die by my hand, and I will eat your heart!" Astrid said.
Taylor
Taylor raised his eyebrows as he stood on the porch.
"Well I don't know about you," he turned to Bee, "but that didn't sound particularly nice."
Bee frowned and raised his hand, creating an invisible force field in front of the house, and around Nathan.
"What's going on?" Taylor frowned, talking in mix.
Astrid
Astrid whirled to face them, wings beating at the air and sword raised.
RK sprang, wailing a battlecry.
"Get OFF me!"
She spun rapidly, the cat clinging tenaciously to her back and hurting her as much as he could.
"Han dør! De forhindrer ikke dette, Gammel!" (He will die! You will not prevent this, Old One!)
Her reply was a muffled snarl.
"Hun vil det. Det dør Se! Hel tar De, katt! " (She wills it. The Seer will die! Hell take you, cat!)
Astrid's wings beat at the air wildly as her eyes glowed red and then she drove her sword through the center of her body towards her back. RK leapt off and she knelt, panting with pain as she slowly withdrew the now wet sword from her body.
"De brenner. Og ber for den barmhjertige døden jeg gitt De. Hun Som Er Klar Da Sola har Deres sjeler." (You will burn. And pray for the merciful death I would have given you. She Who Is Brighter Then The Sun will have your souls.)
Taylor
"Who wills it? And why?" Taylor asked in mix, frowning slightly.
"Taylor..."
"Just keep your shield over him," Taylor insisted, his eyes on Astrid.
Astrid
Astrid looked at Taylor and laughed as she got to her feet.
"De har ikke noen ide hva De har akkurat involveredd Dem i, utlending," she said in derision. (You have no idea what you have just involved yourself in, alien.)
RK crouched, ear bleeding and torn. He breathed carefully due to Astrid managing to crack one of his ribs.
"They are not involved in this. They are not of this earth."
"Har han egenrådig som gått inn i i, nå fanget i skyggene han er," she whispered. (Willfully has he entered in, now caught in the shadows he will be.)
"Av og til er i mørke det reneste lyset." (Sometimes in the darkness is the purest light.)
"She's working her delusions again..."
"Tale av Henne med respekt, eller jeg dreper De, merker meg," Astrid said with clear threat. (Speak of Her with respect, or I will kill you, mark me.)
"You don't have the power. At least, not yet."
"Not yet."
Astrid's wings beat and she rose into the air, sheathing her sword and drawing her bow, setting an arrow to its string which she pointed at Taylor.
"Leave him or die. Your blood will content me until I can feed on his."
Taylor
Taylor frowned again.
"I don't take kindly to death threats Miss," he shook his head, "but you're welcome to try and shoot me with that thing if you want."
Bee sensed RK's injury, and quickly began to heal him.
"Tell me why you want to take this man's life," Taylor went on.
Astrid and Nathan
"Because I must, and because I wish to," Astrid snarled.
"Do I need another reason?"
"You're beaten, tainted," Nathan said hoarsely.
"Run now, run run like a puppy dog back to the side of your mistress. She's calling to burn you like the sun."
"And you know what I'm going to do when I return to her side?" Astrid turned to hiss at Nathan.
"I am going to hurt your 'little red' as much as I can."
Nathan hid his face in his hands, and Astrid smiled chillingly, fangs gleaming.
"She's so virgin sweet...maye when I kill her, I'll send you her scalp."
Taylor
"Life isn't something you take for the sake of it," Taylor shook his head.
He glanced back at the door to make sure Mouse was still inside.
"We need to find out who this is, that she speaks of..." Bee began softly.
"And to do that we need to keep him safe," Taylor insisted, "so just hold it."
He stepped forward and leant against the veranda post.
"RK?! Are you ok?"
Astrid and Nathan
"I'm fine." RK said, still watching Astrid.
She laughed, a low evil sound.
"Children all. And you're blinded, Old One. You're blinded by what you think you've seen. You have no idea..."
"Go before I lose my temper with you."
Astrid laughed again, then fired her arrow at RK. The cat skipped sideways.
"What a pity I missed. It's poisoned, you know. Had such an interesting effect on the wolf...but I'll leave that to your broken Seer to explain. He saw me that night. Well, he didn't. Beacuse he was blind at the time. I should do that again," she mused, and licked her fingers, smiling.
"Blood and darkness," Nathan whispered.
"Tell me, Seer, who restored your eyes? I destroyed them quite well the first time."
Taylor
Bee quickly put a shield around RK as well, just in case.
"There are such things as healers you know," Taylor screwed his face up slightly.
Astird and Nathan
Astrid flexed her hands, wings beating slowly as vampires and demons crept up out of the darkness, eyes gleaming eerily.
"I would suggest you get back inside your house now and pretend you never came out into the dark."
A vampire growled, amber eyes burning.
Nathan cowered.
"No..."
Taylor
Taylor chuckled.
"As far as I'm concerned, they can go for it. Try and touch us. But they might get a little pissed when they realize they can't," he said defiantly.
He glanced at Bee who nodded again.
"Don't think we're afraid of you," Taylor added sincerely.
Astrid and Nathan
Astrid looked at him thoughtfully.
"So brave...you know, the last person who stood up to me, I ate his heart? I'll watch for you, alien."
Nathan covered his eyes as she swung to face him.
"And I'll be back for you, Seer."
"Try your hardest, morrigu. Foul crow. Go feed more on the brave battle dead. You stink of corruption."
Astrid smiled.
"I'll remember you said that...and rest assured, I'll take every word out on Chelsea. I'll give her your good wishes, Nathan."
"She knows what must be, is."
"And having an insane teacher must be such a comfort."
Astrid flared her wings and shot into the sky. The demons diseappered soon after.
RK padded over to the barrier, pawed at it, then seamlessly passed through it.
"I thought it was going to take a lot longer to find you," Nathan commented to the cat, then fainted.
Blood slowly seeped from a wound on his side.
Taylor
Bee stepped down onto the lawn and made his way over to Nathan.
"You know... we're lucky it's so late at night and most of the neighbours are on holidays," Taylor hugged his chest as he shivered from the cold, "people like that really piss me off. Are they just trying to get themselves killed?"
Bee knelt beside Nathan and began to heal him.
Taylor considered the state of the yard, then debated whether or not to go and fill Mouse in.
Nathan
RK glanced at Bee, watching the colour return to Nathan's face. The Seer sat up with a gasp, eyes flicking around wildly.
"You're safe. Calm."
"I..."
Nathan put his hand to his head, wincing slightly.
"It's so hard to tell when I am."
Taylor
Deciding he'd probably need to translate some stuff, Taylor made his way down the yard toward the group.
"So ah..." he began, putting his hands in his pockets, "what... exactl... is going on. No side-stepping."
Nathan
RK huffed.
"As she said, it's none of your business. Not yet."
"You're not in them," Nathan told Taylor.
"But the Mouse is. I have to...talk to her. Explain some things."
Taylor
"I'm not in what?" Taylor frowned, "because according to a certain recent death threat, it seems I'm involved in something."
"Hush," Bee insisted, "now let us get you inside."
He stood and began to lead the way back in the house.
Nathan
RK started to walk away.
"Wait, you have to wait," Nathan told him.
"I'll wait. Just not here. The wolf doesn't like me."
"Don't worry, he didn't like me either," Nathan said dryly.
Taylor
Taylor's eyes darted between the two of them.
"Come on," he nodded back towards the house, holding his hand out to Nathan.
Nathan
Nathan stood, swaying slightly.
"I got caught out after dark...not good. Meant to find a warehouse or something. Come in the day, but then time crept up on me, and the morrigu came and you saw her. You saw her."
He shook his head as RK disappeared into the shadows.
"She hates me because I see her for what she is."
He picked up his backpack from the ground and started towards the house.
Taylor
Taylor led Nathan inside, before closing and locking the door behind them.
He led him through to the livingroom.
"Mouse?" he called.
Mouse and Nathan
"Yeah? You found out what-"
Mouse stopped dead at the sight of Nathan and her face whitened.
"What are you doing here?"
"I saw-"
"No. Nonononono. The last time you saw something with me in it, I was kidnapped and sold to the government. I refuse to be in any more visions."
Taylor
"Hey..." Taylor began, putting his hand up.
He worked on calming himself down, in turn calming Mouse slightly.
"You know no one's going to willingly let anything happen to us," Taylor insisted, "if not, I mean... Blakesley probably would have been back by now."
Mouse and Nathan
Fafnir growled.
Loner. Get out.
Mouse threaded her fingers through his ruff, holding him by her side.
"So...why are you here? Not at the school?"
Nathan traced the livid scars down one cheek with his fingers.
"Great things are happening. Great evil rises, burning and terrible as the dawn."
"And this has to do with me what?"
"Your children are going to stop it."
Taylor
"Settle Fafnir," Taylor frowned as he spoke in wolf.
"Now I like the sound of that..."
Nathan and Mouse
Mouse shook her head and went to the couch and sat down.
Nathan watched her, fear and anger spiking around her like flames. The wolf paced over to her, protectiveness washing around her aura and bound together by the Pack link.
"The three who are one," Nathan began.
"They are...parts of a whole, that is greater then the sum of its parts. They were...designed to be so. Designed to be a plague to mankind and a terror to stalk the earth. Flames to rise, the seas to boil, the earth to move and the winds to howl over a scorched and desolate land where the eagle would no longer fly and man vanish, leaving the world to the demons. But you...can change that."
Taylor
"Not meaning to be a burden..." Taylor began softly, turning to Nathan.
"But isn't this a bit much to... just lay onto her at the moment? Couldn't it wait until after they were born?"
Nathan and Mouse
"She is coming," Nathan whispered.
"And I have much to do. Many others to see. Other pieces to put into play. She has as well. She's seeking you...and she will find you."
"Who?" Mouse asked.
"Ashtoreth...a goddess. Long banished, but returned now because of Glory," Nathan spat.
"Stupid girl, stupid, stupid to have brought Glory abck and try to ed her alone! Still, the burning brightness seeks! If she cannot defeat Glory, she will have this world. Her own is dead now. She drank it dry then burned it into ashes."
Nathan shuddered.
"I have seen this. If I fail...if *you* fail, our world ends. Burnt beneath flames that cannot be put out. The Nothing Man will help her."
Taylor
Taylor sighed and scratched his head.
"Well why not?" he said finally, "we've had a hell of a year. Had to finish it off with something big."
He made his way over to a couch and sat down, not letting Mouse feel his frustration - even though it was evident on his face.
Nathan and Mouse
"It is not yet," Nathan said, after a moment of hesitation.
"Not for months, not till the children are born. But you had best know, for she will be hunting you."
"Like that is something that hasn't happened before," Mouse said bitterly.
"Who's this other guy? The Nothing Man?"
"A man of science, twisted and distorted. What he makes, is made to destroy. He plays games with life in the name of art."
"Blakesley," Mouse said.
"God dammit."
"He will be pressed into her service...bullied. The bully cowed under the lash. For her, he will bring nothing. Null. Void."
Nathan looked frustrated.
"Why can't I say it right?"
Taylor
"So... Blakesley is coming back," Taylor ran his fingers through his hair, before looking at Mouse.
"Well we knew he'd be after the three."
Mouse and Nathan
"Yeah," Mouse said.
"Kinda inevitable."
"But not just for them," Nathan said.
"For the dragon and the three are his. He made them. Crafted them. But that isn't all. I saw a woman with black eyes glowing green. She screams."
Taylor
"Spook?" Taylor frowned.
"She had... well, her eyes aren't like that anymore. But what would she have to do with it?"
Nathan
"She gives a gift unwilling," Nathan said slowly.
"Broken and forgetten, blood like flowers spilling out as she screams and screams to a god she doesn't remember to save her."
"And we're meant to care why?" Clarissa asked bluntly.
"Because she carries the seed of the void."
Taylor
"Blakesley's got her," Taylor stared at the floor, "and byt he sounds of it, he's impregnated her as well."
He leant forward and put his head in his hands.
"As if it wasn't bad enough. I want to know what the hell he's done with Christian."
Nathan and Mouse
Nathan swayed slightly, hand going to his head.
"Blood and darkness...so hard to see otherwise now. It's broken all apart. I see such death..."
"You never seem to see anything else," Mouse said.
"You think I *choose* to? If I could I would sear my mind, simply so I would *never* have to see them again," Nathan hissed at her.
Taylor
Nathan was beginning to remind Taylor of Natalia, and that was not a good thing.
"Ok, let's go through this..." he began slowly in an attempt to calm both down.
"Do we have a... certain time, or place, or... anything?"
Nathan
"The children are born," Nathan said, swinging to regard Taylor.
"That is all I could tell. God, stop it."
He clawed at the side of his face.
"I'm telling them! Stop!"
Fafnir started to growl.
Taylor
Taylor rested his chin in his hand as he watched Nathan. The seer was definately having problems.
"Well... depending on how old they are... we're looking at some time early next year."
He closed his eyes and scratched his eyebrow.
"We just really need to stick to Bee and Riss I guess."
Nathan
"It's more of an impression," Nathan said, panting raggedly.
"Jumbled fragments. I saw her, holding them. But...it's too broken to tell. I see futures upon futures. All I can try and do is steer them the right way."
Taylor
Taylor glanced toward him, then looked to the floor again.
"We'll have to be careful when I go on the promo tour for this new album," he looked up at Mouse, "the babies should be born by then. I don't know if you'll want to come or stay in Tulsa."
Nathan and Mouse
"I'll go with you," Mouse said.
Nathan's eyes slid shut as the decision changed the future once more, then he opened them again. With a flick, his hands filled with cards and he started to shuffle them, the soothing slither and repetitive movements calming his nerves. He flicked a card at her and she caught it reflexively.
The Queen of Hearts.
"What...?"
"Who you are. This time round."
Taylor
Taylor nodded, glad that he wouldn't have to leave her behind.
"As long as the three aren't too much trouble."
He rubbed his face, before looking toward the hallway.
Nathan and Mouse
Nathan snorted.
"You think they aren't going to be? They're powerful. It's shining out of her. And they're only going to be babies. They're only children, but so powerful they could kill the world."
"They won't," Mouse said, one hand protectively over her belly.
"So you hope. So we all hope. If the burning one gets a hold of them, or the Nothing Man, then they will. That's your job. To keep them safe and make them grow up right."
Taylor
Taylor frowned slightly, looking down the hallway.
"Malory?" he frowned, spotting the dark ball of fur by the doorway.
He glanced at Mouse, then went over to retrieve the fuzzle.
"What are you doing out here?" Taylor demanded in fuzzle, "you should be in bed."
Nathan
Nathan recoiled.
"What is wrong with it? God!"
The fuzzle appeared as a pulsing ball of repressed rage and violent tendecies.
"You keep that in your *house*?!"
Taylor
Taylor frowned, holding himself back.
"Malory has done nothing wrong yet," he frowned at Nathan, "and until then, he has sanctuary here."
He glanced at Mouse worriedly, knowing he hadn't yet told anyone what his father had said.
Nathan
"You don't wait to put down a rabid dog!" Nathan exclaimed.
"You don't wait until it kills someone. You kill it to make sure it doesn't get a chance to!"
Taylor
"As far as I'm concerned, nothing dies!" Taylor exclaimed, "I don't know what you think you see, but you haven't warned us about anything too drastic that he's planning. So excuse me if I don't see anything wrong with keeping him right now."
He hesitated and closed his eyes, holding Malory to his chest. Opening them again, he looked at mouse.
"I'll explain later," he shook his head.
Nathan and Mouse
Nathan shook his head slightly.
"You're the one with the gun pointed at your head."
Mouse looked between him and Taylor and frowned slightly.
"Alright," she said softly.
Taylor
"He's a little too small to hold a gun," Taylor squinted slightly before disappearing down the hallway.
He made his way into their room and turned on the light.
Nathan and Mouse
"How about knife then?" Nathan called after him.
"Sure its big enough to hold a razorblade."
Mouse shifted in her seat slightly, feeling a twinge of wory from Taylor.
Get out. Fafnir snarled at Nathan.
The insane Seer turned to look at the wolf.
"You better keep her safe, wolf. You better."
Taylor
Taylor made sure he didn't drop Malory as he rushed over to the bottom drawer the fuzzles had occupied.
"What the... What the heck happened, guys?" he demanded in fuzzle.
He set Malory on the bed and felt for the edge of the sticky tape that was holding Xanthe and Mya down.
"Bad Mal!" Meena exclaimed.
"Malory?" Taylor looked up.
He'd disappeared. Frowning slightly, Taylor got the tape off the rest of the fuzzles.
Nathan and Mouse
Nathan muttered distractedly to himself and went over to the windows, looking out at the still dark street.
"You haven't seen anything about Malory?" Mouse asked.
"You know my talent," Nathan said briefly.
"I see what is. And that black ball of fluff is evil, through and through. It'll kill you all if it has a chance to."
Taylor
Once the fuzzles were free, Taylor closed their drawer and went looking for Malory. He couldn't see the tape anywhere, so he'd obviously had it hidden.
He noticed the bathroom door open, and went to close it. The door wouldn't budge. Frowning slightly, he turned the light on.
"Woah!" he exclaimed, stepping back a little, "someone's been busy..."
Nathan and Mouse
"Taylor?" Mouse called out, rising from the couch slightly.
"Shit," Nathan said sincerely.
He drew a stake, eyes flicking around the room.
Clarissa stood.
"Whoa, what are you on?"
"Oh, sit down and shut up," Nathan snapped at her, eyes still scanning the room.
"You're not likely to see it before I do, fellow mutant."
Taylor
"Don't come down here!" Taylor called back, keeping an eye out for Malory.
The bathroom had been turned into a deathtrap. There was a trip wire set up across the door, liquid soap strewn across the tiled floor, and razors strategically placed in the area a person would fall. There were no towels or mats that could have helped a person get up again.
With a gulp, Taylor pulled the trip wire out and yanked the door shut. Just as he did, he lost his footing and slammed into the door.
"Malory!" he exclaimed, seeing that the fuzzle had pulled the mat out from under his feet.
The fuzzle disappeared under the bed.
Taylor stood with his back to the door for a moment, mind racing for something to do.
Nathan
Clarissa slid knives into her hands, still looking at Nathan suspicously.
"Oh, for the love of god," Nathan said in disgust.
"I may be insane, but I'm not homicidal. And it's Dr Dolittle who let the thing into the house in the first place. Sanctuary, my ass. All that thing wanted was time to set up some traps. I suggest, if we don't get it tonight, you sleep *real* light."
Taylor
"Malory?" Taylor called softly, sliding to the floor.
He kept his eyes out for anything that might come out from under the bed.
Suddenly, he registered crying. Frowning slightly, he slowly crawled forward and lifted the bed sheets a little.
"Malory?"
He saw the dark ball of fluff retreat lightly, sulking.
"Mal, are you ok?"
"Tay 'ill 'urt me," he sulked.
"No he won't," Taylor shook his head softly, "come out from there."
"But Mal' bad! Mal' be 'urteded cos Mal' bad. Mal' sowee."
Taylor sighed as he reached under the bed and pulled Malory out.
"We're not going to hurt you, ok?" he insisted, looking into the fuzzle's eyes reassuringly.
"Yes, you were bad. But you know you were bad, right?"
Malory nodded slightly.
"Are you going to sleep now?"
Malory nodded again.
Nathan
"The house is a deathtrap," Nathan murmured.
"Might be better to test my luck with the demons."
He watched a vampire slide across the front lawn, and shuddered.
"Or maybe not."
Taylor
Taylor reappeared down the hallway, then jumped as he felt someone behind him.
"Oh... Bee..."
"Vampires are nothing when you know how to fight them," Bee proclaimed, putting a hand on Taylor's shoulder.
"Don't go into the ensuite, ok?" Taylor told Mouse, "I have a bit of cleaning up to do first. Use the other bathroom."
Mouse and Nathan
"Alright," Mouse said.
"What happened?"
Nathan threw a dark glance over his shoulder at Bee.
"I've been running from since my powers activated when I was eleven. Three vampires, I can cope with. Fifty or more? No. Plus the other demons that are out there tonight...Tulsa's a big enough town to support an extensive demon community."
Taylor
"Do not speak to me as though I am a child," Bee said sternly, "you may see into the future, but you do not know the past. I do know of such things."
Taylor flinched away from him, feeling the tensions in the room rise.
"Can we break this meeting up?" he asked finally, looking between everyone in the room.
Nathan and Mouse
Nathan flipped his stake back into his pocket and chuckled.
"Ruff. Shaking here, dog. You may know of such things, but you don't know the worst of the world. You may think you do..."
He turned and stalked over to the window again, watching the ebb and flow of the demons around the house. He tapped on the pane of glass, yellow eyes turning to regard him eerily.
"Nathan," Mouse said warningly.
"Yap, yap. You know, Hearts. You know."
"Seraph."
"Oracle called me Seraph...before a vampire ripped her throat out. And my little red is in the claws of the crow. I can't help her. Can't. My fault again..."
Taylor
"I do not brag, Sir," Bee retorted, "I do know I don't know many things past what roams around the night. For that is what I need to know. I need to know how to counter such things because my job is to protect those who don't."
Taylor put a hand to his stomach, feeling sick all of a sudden.
Nathan and Mouse
"Good guard dog," Nathan murmured, still looking out.
"Nathan, stop being a brat," Mouse said wearily, the babies kicking inside her stomach.
"How's everyone at the mansion, anyway?"
"Things happening...I left last month, walked here. Spent three days bailed up in a warehouse, and then I got arrested for vagrancy. Otherwise I would have been here sooner. Sparks got herself elfed and corrupted. People from other worlds walking through, beings of light and small people of the earth. The wolf and the angel howled. I saw too much and broke for a while. The morrigu came and took my little red."
His fingers trailed down the glass and Mouse winced at the guilt and fury that waved off him.
"I should have been able to stop her."
Taylor
"Are you ok?" Bee asked as Taylor leant against the doorway.
"Yeah, fine. I'll be fine," he insisted, before disappearing down the hallway.
"I heard about the last time you said that," Bee called after him.
Taylor waved him off and disappeared into his room. Bee nodded to their listening audience and followed him.
Nathan and Mouse
"Look, can I just hole up here for the night?" Nathan asked Mouse.
"You'd have to sleep on the couch," she said hesitantly.
"Fine with me. Last night I slept on floorboards."
Nathan halfsmiled at her, and Mouse nodded, standing.
"I'm going to bed. Riss?"
"I might do the same."
Clarissa eyed Nathan again as he settled onto one of the couches, knapsack under his head. He seemed to fall asleep between one breath and the next.
"How do you know you can trust him?" she asked Mouse suspicously.
"Nathan might be many things...but one thing he's not is a liar. Night."
Mouse went slowly to her room.