Last of the fic dumps!
Oct. 29th, 2007 02:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mad_andyOK, you might want to skip this one - it's pretty nasty stuff, involving non-con sex and all sorts of dreadfulness.
The Beast and the Magus, defeated.
Pete crept into the cavern, unsure what to expect.
Looking around, he swore softly as he finally spotted the objective of his search chained to the wall, eyes closed and head hanging down, crusted blood matting her dark hair in even darker patches and swirling tattoos visible through huge rents in her clothing.
Remembering Stephen's words of warning as well as his lessons, he gingerly pushed his mind out and closed his eyes, feeling for any evidence of a trap.
Nothing. Nothing and no one here except himself, his lover, and a few rats.
Shooting out across the sandy floor, he reached Yoz and lifted her head, praying that she was still alive; she'd seemed awfully still to him.
"Yoz," he hissed, noting the rise and fall of her chest when he reached her. Supporting her weight on one arm, he struggled to get the stolen key into the lock of the manacles to free her.
"Pete," she muttered through crusted, dry lips.
"It's alright, I'm here, I'll have you out in a moment."
"Shouldn't be here," she croaked, before coughing and spitting into the dust.
"Couldn't leave you here, you know that…"
"Oh love," she moaned, and leaned her head on his shoulder. The key clicked in the lock and the manacles fell away from her wrists; barely even pausing for breath, Pete swept the small woman up into his arms and turned to make a run for it.
Tiamat was standing in front of him, arms folded and a sardonic smile on her face; flanking her were two male vampires, Stephen and one he'd never seen before.
"Oh, shit."
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Yoz sighed, voice sounding less feeble, "it's a trap."
"But I didn't feel anyone…"
Tiamat smiled more widely, and the male he didn't recognise let out a harsh snarl of laughter.
"Ignorant fuckin' cub."
Yoz tightened her arms around Pete's neck as he swore quietly. "I wouldn't have put it quite like that, love, but he's right." Her voice was sounding a little stronger now. "You shouldn't have come."
He looked deep into her eyes, and cracked a tight, brief smile. "I love you. Can't leave the woman I love to die, can I?"
"So you wish to die together, is that it?" The smooth, honeyed voice of the Queen slipped between them. "How…romantic."
Yoz bared her teeth at the sound.
"Put me down, Pete."
"But -"
"Now."
He did so, placing his hands on her shoulders as she moved to stand between him and the three vampires.
"Let him go, Tia. You've got me; I'll stay of my own will if you let him leave. I've beaten you for him once, so be a little graceful and just…" she waved her hands, ignoring Pete's tightening grip on her shoulders, "let him go."
The brutish looking male took a pace forward, a dreadful light in his eyes. "Give him to me, lady," he asked, a thin stream of drool beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth. Pete looked at Stephen; he was staring at the ceiling and looking like he wished he were somewhere, anywhere else.
"I don't think so," Tia said smoothly. "Stephen, please place Mister O'Reilly in the holding cell. Samuel, stay where you are."
"I'm not going anywhere," snapped Pete through clenched teeth as the young man approached him hesitantly.
"Go, love," murmured Yoz quietly, not looking at him but locking eyes for an instant with her former lover. "We'll think of something."
Pete hesitated, and Steve reached out to take his arm.
"Don't make me hurt you," he said quietly, "because if I have to, I will."
Pete squeezed Yoz' shoulder in farewell and followed the vampire, unable to speak. He was placed in a hollow in the rock which had an iron barred door; barely even a cage, he had room to squat, or stand, but nothing else. He swallowed hard as he watched his beloved Magus standing alone in the middle of the floor, battered and weary, but still with a defiant angle to her head as she faced down her adversaries.
"I think," smiled the ancient creature, with a tilt of her head and an oily smile, "we need to show our guest just what happens to humans defiant enough to stand against us."
"Kill her and you'll get nothing from me," snarled Pete, gripping the bars of his cell and shaking them hard. "Do you hear me? Nothing!"
"Oh, she won't die. She'll wish she was, though, before Samuel is through with her…"
Steve and Pete exchanged a look of consternation. Oh, shit…
Tia turned to walk away across the cavern, heading for the carved wooden throne on its raised dais on the far side. She motioned Steve to seat himself at her right hand and rested a hand on his head. "This will be good for you too, sweetlet," she purred, suddenly clenching her fist in his hair and giving his head a hard shake before relaxing her fingers, "purge any…residual feelings you may have had for the human. Samuel?"
The creature standing before Yoz grinned, then curled it’s back into a lumpen arch and began to change form. Pete watched in horror as the vampire's flesh ran like wax, reorganising itself into a twisted, hairy approximation of an animal's form. Specifically, a werewolf.
But the hunched creature menacing Yoz had nothing in common with the lithe, graceful form of a true wolf. The only possible connection might be that the coarse, hairy coat was grey, and that the long muzzle was undeniably based upon a canine model. Other than that it was a nightmare creation of twisted muscle and bone, sharp clawed paws and dreadful hunger.
"Cool," smiled Yoz calmly, then took off running. Pete's heart leapt as he saw her break for freedom; but all too soon it became apparent that the effort was going to be futile. The beast leapt ahead of her in a series of hideous cat jumps, swinging around to bar her way with a snarl. Never even pausing, she changed direction and fled back the way she had come, jinking and twisting like a coursed hare. She was exhausted and hurt before she began the chase; she had no chance of escape, but still she ran.
She had to be tiring, Pete thought as he watched, knuckles white where he gripped the bars tightly; sure enough, she was slowing slightly, having to make more frequent turns to stay away from the hunting claws.
With a final burst of desperate energy she made one final change of direction; Pete didn't even realise where she was going until she doubled back, twisted, jumped, and stopped outside his cell, gripping his hands through the bars and panting blood-tinged foam over her chin from the mad effort. Her eyes were rimmed in red, blood vessels strained to bursting by her instinctive endeavour to stay ahead of the hunting beast.
"God, Yoz," he moaned, torn between looking into her eyes and watching the brute stalking her.
"Love you…Pete," she panted, and for the very first time he saw the coldness of fear creep into her eyes. "Please…"
"Anything." The beast was gathering itself for a spring, lowering it’s head and tensing gross, misshapen - but undeniably powerful - muscles.
"Don't watch…"
Her voice was cut off with a yell as the vampire leapt on her from behind, crushing her briefly against the bars with it’s massive weight and squeezing what little breath she had left out of her. Pete's clutching fingers touched her face for a single moment, and their eyes met for one last time before she was dragged away from him, struggling and swearing as the huge creature began to tear the rags of her clothes from her with teeth and claws.
Pete realised what was going to happen, then, and began to batter his fists bloody on the bars of his cell, screaming furiously at the creature called Samuel, Tiamat, Steve, and even a God who he didn't really believe in, begging them to stop what was going to happen. No-one answered.
Yoz rolled and kicked out viciously, even biting at a paw where it swiped across her face; the animal squealed and reared back in pain, giving her a chance to wriggle free and make another bid to escape. No chance. It recovered its bearings and brought her down once more, raking her back with its claws before grabbing one shoulder with sharp, tearing teeth, shaking her and flinging her across the floor like a terrier with a rat.
She rolled to a halt not far from Pete's cell, crumpled in a bleeding heap. He squatted down and reached his hand out as far as it would go, begging all the while under his breath that she be alive, please let her be alive…
He moaned when she opened her eyes and blinked at him in confusion. She began to stretch her hand out towards him but before she could complete the movement she was seized once more by the creature and dragged away, clamped firmly in its teeth and dragged under its body as it moved on all fours to the centre of the cavern. It dropped her there and squatted over her, looking to its mistress for another command.
Pete could see Yoz moving slowly, groggily, under the beast's stomach, trapped against its foul, hairy body. He hoped like hell her tattoos were at full strength; no normal human could endure what she was going through. His attention was snapped across to the dais on the far side of the cave; Samuel's attention was fixed on his mistress as she watched the whole scene, seemingly with amusement.
"Oh, go on then Samuel," she laughed lightly, in the tone of one bestowing a treat to a favoured pet, "since you want to so badly."
The creature began to lick his lover, all over her body; she groaned and tried to move away, but he snarled and held her down with one taloned paw before continuing to lick and drool on her, paying particular attention to her breasts and groin. It was only when Pete noticed with horror that the beast was developing a large erection that he surged to his feet and screamed again.
"NO!"
Tiamat gestured at her pet, and it halted in its ministrations, trembling, drooling, and whining softly, begging to be allowed to continue.
"Mister O'Reilly?" Smiled the vampire Queen.
"Stop this!" Pete yelled, shaking the bars of his cage as hard as he could.
"Will you join with us, of your own free will? Become one of us?"
He looked back at Yoz, and realised she was watching him. Her eyes drilled into him across the intervening space, and the expression on her face was clear. Don't you dare…
"Will you let her go?"
Tiamat laughed. "No. But her death will be quick, and Samuel's fun will be spoiled. That is all I will offer."
Pete closed his eyes and rested his head on the pitted bars. No choice, then.
"Go fuck yourself," he replied coldly, never once opening his eyes.
"Samuel," rolled Tia, with relish, "you may continue."
Despite Yoz' plea to him not to watch, Pete couldn't help but open his eyes and observe through his tears and pain what was happening. Yoz was swearing breathily as the creature clamped his jaws around the back of her neck, hard enough to draw blood but, presumably, not hard enough to crush; lifting her with a combination of jaws and one paw under her chest groping for her breasts he dragged her to her knees.
Pete closed his eyes as the beast entered his lover roughly; when he heard her scream weakly with pain he turned around completely, and threw up.
Yoz was in Hell. Not only were the bites and scratches excruciatingly painful, but the grip on her neck hurt like a bastard, to say nothing of the talons slicing into the soft skin of her breasts; her knees were scraped raw and bleeding against the sandy floor of the cavern, and when she felt herself violated by the cold cock of the beast she couldn't help herself, and cried out miserably. It didn't seem like it was ever going to stop; she could hear the beast grunting softly as it thrust itself into her, forcing itself ever deeper into her flesh. She tried struggling, but that only seemed to inflame the beast's passion; it panted hotly across the skin of her neck and the thrusting got faster, harder. She groaned between her teeth and tried to go limp; it just pulled her tighter into its stinking body and made a series of snorting noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Part of her wanted to lose her temper completely, fight the beast so hard that it would have no choice but to kill her; but she could hear Pete weeping quietly in his cell, and knew that as long as he was alive she had to stay alive. Where there was life, it was said, there was hope; and perhaps Tiamat would be so sated after this little floorshow that she would make a mistake.
The beast stiffened, shoving itself harder into her as it came; she felt it spray her insides with its filthy cold ejaculate, and cursed under her breath. The grip on her neck loosened as she was dropped into the dirt, and she felt the softening prick withdraw itself from her aching, torn flesh, dribbling a mixture of blood and cum across her form. She rolled up into a ball, and hoped like hell that Tiamat was going to be satisfied with one lot of public humiliation for the night. She heard the strange sucking, grinding noise that signified her attacker returning to his human form, and felt his wad of chilly spit hit her on the back.
"Bitch," he snarled, before walking away.
Faintly, she heard the woman giving orders, then the sounds of two sets of feet leaving the cavern. She lay still, suspecting a trick; then felt soft, cold hands gently touching her head.
"Oh, shit, Yoz," said a familiar voice filled with pain, "I didn't know…if I'd known I would have…"
"Would have what?" snapped Pete from his tiny cell. "Jumped in there to defend her? I doubt it. You spineless bastard."
Yoz groaned as Steve helped her sit up. "Don't touch me," she muttered, too tired and hurt to do anything about it.
"Look, Tia's asked me to clean you up then chain you back to the wall." He glanced over his shoulder at Pete, "if you promise he won't do anything stupid I'll let him do it. Deal?"
"Ask him," she replied flatly, staring at the floor.
The young man looked at Pete. "Nothing stupid," he warned. Pete raised his hands, although his expression was dark. Steve left them for a moment before returning with a steaming bucket of water and a pile of rags. "All I could do," he said softly, before going across to let Pete out of his cell.
Pete flung the door open, catching the young vampire a crack across the shins; Steve snarled and showed his fangs and Pete subsided with a growl of his own. All thoughts of revenge evaporated, however, as he went to his knees beside Yoz.
"Jesus," he breathed as he took in the extent of her injuries. She turned to look at him with a weak smile.
"Not a pretty sight, huh?" she asked, before her eyes filled with tears. Pete folded her into his arms, heedless of the filth and blood that caked her skin, and rocked her gently as she cried into his chest. He stroked her hair, and told her she was so beautiful, and brave, and wonderful, and how much he loved her, and how they would win and get out of there and be together…
He cried for a while then too, and finally they simply sat and clung to each other like children in a storm, taking comfort from the nearness of another living being.
"I hate to interrupt," sighed Steve quietly from where he had been watching glumly nearby, "but I have to be getting back shortly. She'll be suspicious if it takes too much longer."
Shooting him a filthy look, Pete gently lifted Yoz' chin with a finger. "Hey love. I have to get you cleaned up, OK?"
She nodded, and between them they began to remove the worst of the muck from her injuries. Thankfully, most of them were superficial; her natural healing talents and tattoos had protected her from the most savage of the physical injuries. The bites on her shoulder and neck were the worst; she cursed between gritted teeth as Pete used the cleanest of the rags to gently sponge the saliva and crusted blood from them until they were clean.
She rose unsteadily to her feet to allow him to clean off her legs, leaning on his shoulder with her head drooping; but when he came to try and clean the mess between them she stopped him.
"Yoz -"
"I'll do that."
She tried to stand on her own, but stumbled; he stood and folded her in his arms again. "Love, we need to get you clean. I know it won't help much but…please, let me try."
She looked into his face, saw the honesty and the love there, and nodded. Dropping back to his knees, Pete finished the job as gently as he could, trying not to gag on the stench the creature had left on her. When he was done he drew her down into his lap and tucked his coat around them both; she was shivering, teeth chattering, and didn't feel like she was ever going to stop.
"Time's up."
Pete looked up sharply. "You can't do it, man. She'll freeze to death."
"She won't. She's stronger than that."
Pete shook his head, stroking her hair gently. "Normally. But now? She won't survive the night, and you know it."
The vampire looked away, then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "OK. Give her your coat. And if you freeze to death instead don’t say I didn’t bloody warn you."
Pete struggled out of his heavy greatcoat and tucked it around Yoz' shoulders. She stood up and looked him straight in the eye, trying hard not to weep; he kissed her gently and took a pace back. Allowing the vampire to reattach her to the chains while he stood and did nothing was possibly the hardest thing he had ever done; she followed him meekly back over to the wall where he chained her up before returning to Pete's side.
"In you go."
He measured his chances of overwhelming the smaller man; then glanced back at Yoz' slumped form against the far wall and let out a breath of exasperation. "Alright."
He flinched as the door clanged shut behind him.
"Pete." Steve's voice was low. "I know you have a weapon with you. I don't know what it is, and I don't want to know. But I need to know what you need to use it, if I'm to give you a chance."
Pete turned back and eyed Stephen suspiciously. "I don't know what you mean."
He flung up his hands. "Fine! Whatever. I've done all I can to help you, and still you don't trust me. I wash my hands of you." He stormed off towards the exit his mistress had taken, then paused at the doorway. "Both of you," he sighed softly, then left.
"Shit," muttered Pete.
"That could have gone better," murmured Yoz in quiet agreement.
Pete slid down the back wall of his tiny cell and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. Could be a long night tomorrow."
"OK," she answered sleepily, curling up in his coat with a clink of her chains.
He listened to her breathing until it smoothed out and became regular, indicating sleep had finally come to her despite the pain. He set himself to watch over her; he may not be able to do much, but he could sure as hell give her a warning if anything else came for them.
Heedless of the tears running down his cheeks, he commenced his lonely vigil over the woman he loved.
***********
OK, so this bit is very near the end. All the enemies are vanquished - as you might imagine - but there are loose ends to tie up. And one of the loose ends decides to break her heart as a going-away present...
Goodnight sweet prince.
They met again on the cliff top, an hour before dawn.
"Hey," Steve called softly as he watched Yoz approach, warily.
"Hey yourself," she replied quietly, offering him a cigarette. He accepted it and tilted his head delicately as he allowed her to light it for him. The sound of her lighter closing with a snap rang loud in the pre-dawn quiet; the only other sounds were the gulls murmuring on their ledges below them, and the ceaseless susurration of the sea.
They looked out toward the horizon for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
"So," she sighed in the end, "to what do I owe this pleasure? I mean, I don't hear a word for weeks and then all of a sudden you want to see me, here, now, today. The sun's about to come up, and I don't see any convenient hideys for you. Tiamat could walk in the sun without fear, but you can't. So what's up?"
"My time."
Yoz turned sharply. Steve was watching her, hands tucked in his pockets and smiling wryly. He looked…peaceful. As though he'd finally come to a conclusion, and was happy with it.
"I figured that if you aren't afraid to die, then why should I be? After all, you and I know that death isn't the end…perhaps it's time to let my awareness rejoin my soul, and see what Karma has in store for us next."
Her voice was quietly regretful. "Nothing good, Chap."
He chuckled softly in reply. "I'm sure. But the time for fear is finished."
She nodded sharply. "Righto. So you're going to hang out here until the sun comes up? I'll be off then. Don't really want to watch, thanks."
He reached out and touched her arm, stilling her movement to turn and go. "Yoz…please. I don't want to be alone."
"I see," she replied, still staring inland, to the point eastward where the sun would rise, "so you want me to watch you die twice, is that it?" She turned to look at him again, then stepped in closer so that she could smooth her fingers across his cheek. "I watched you die once, and I thought that I would die of grief as well. Then I found out what had happened to you, and my heart broke again. Now you ask me to watch you exit this world once more? When did you become so cruel?"
"Please," he whispered, voice catching in his throat.
She closed her eyes, frowning as the pain clotted in her chest and weighed down her world.
"I can't deny you," and her voice was so low that only his enhanced hearing caught it, "all I can do is beg. Please. Don't do this to me. Not again."
He kissed her, gently, and she moaned into his mouth as she held him close, burning into her memory the feel of his arms around her, the press of his body against hers, the shape and weight and feel of him here, now. Above the sea, below the clouds, waiting for the sun to come up and burn her love into nothingness and dust.
They parted, and he gently nuzzled at her face. Still clinging to each other like drowning sailors bereft of a spar, he sighed cold breath onto her cheek and told her the last, worst part.
"I need something else."
"Oh God…"
"You need to hold me here. Otherwise some sort of…survival instinct will kick in and I'll run; suicide for vampires isn't as easy as you might think."
Finding one of her hands, he passed a smoothly chilly steel spike to her. She tightened her grip on it and trembled miserably, squeezing her eyes tightly shut in an effort to stop the tears; unsuccessfully, as one lonely drop found it's way through the barrier and ran down her cheek.
"You don't need to get my heart. Just…hold me down. Until the sun comes up."
"Steve," she croaked, pain thick in her tight throat.
"Sssh, love," he murmured, gently pushing her hair away from her eyes, "you always were the brave one. I could always rely on you to do what had to be done."
She kissed him again, tasting and feeling and saying goodbye without words.
Then slipped the sharpened end of the spike between his ribs, and pushed until she felt it lodge in his spine where it could go no further. He hissed in a breath, filling lungs with air and feeling the chill of the morning for the first time as it spread from the cold steel inside his body. Gasping, the strength left his legs with a rush and he sank to the ground, Yoz clinging to him and following him down.
She cradled him in her arms, his head resting on her shoulder as he leaned back on her, all the strength run from his body like water. She kneeled in the damp grass, arms around him, and looked into his dimming eyes, searching for an answer.
"Thanks, Yoz."
"God, Steve…I don't know if I can do this."
Cold black blood soaked his shirt below the jacket and stained her hands where they comforted him helplessly, running over his body to drench the soft, worn blue jeans she had dragged on so thoughtlessly when she'd received the summons that morning. He closed his eyes and smiled faintly, face paling to chalky white even as she watched through tear filled eyes.
"You were ever stronger than you thought, love," he sighed softly, chest hitching more slowly now.
She moaned as the eastern sky brightened, warning of the sun's arrival very shortly. The pain was making it hard to breathe; every breath she drew in seemed made of something corrosive, and her lungs burned with the agony of continued existence.
"I love you, Stephen. I would have married you like a shot, if you'd asked me; but we didn't believe in it back then, did we?"
He blinked his eyes open with an effort, and lifted a hand to brush the tears away from her eyes. "No. Maybe another time…"
She smiled and sniffed. "Yeah. Dammit, Steve, I love you. Don't die on me again. Not like this."
Her throat closed, and she couldn't even cry properly; just make thin choked noises as she watched the growing light reflected in her lover's nut brown eyes, shimmering on his impossibly long lashes. He always did have eyes that were too pretty for a bloke, she thought absently as he blinked up at her, too weak and yet full of emotion to speak.
"Love you," he finally murmured, as the first rays of the sun began to cover his skin with pale ashen char, then arched his back and cried out as the burning pain hit him.
Protecting her own skin with a thought, she rocked him in her arms as the sensation of weight faded and the flickering flames died down around her, leaving her kneeling in a scorched circle, covered with a fine grey ash that was being carried away on the freshening inland breeze. She stared at her hands for a moment; reddened but not burned from the heat of Steve's final departure, she stared and stared as if the sight of their lines and ridges might, somehow, make the experience more real.
It didn't help.
She rose stiffly to her feet, walked to the cliff edge and fumbled clumsily for her cigarettes. Finally managing to extract one from the packet, she lit it with a shaking hand and stared sightlessly out at the wheeling gulls as she smoked it in the cold grey light of dawn.
Turned out nice again.
Picking up the stray thought from a tired delivery driver, well out of sight on the road behind her, she shook with the force of the emotions that raged through her mind. Once the storm had passed, she stood and shivered for a while longer, clutching the greyly dead stub of the cigarette in shaking fingers and tried to think about what on Earth she should do next.
She could jump off the cliff. Angling her teary vision down, she sniffed hard and watched the tide rubbing deceptively smooth rollers over the rocks below, drawing back fingers and veins of foam only to roll around and caress them again, a never ending motion. Well, yes. And then go straight to Hell, where certain entities would be waiting for her, gleefully.
Or she could just…go. Snag her gear from Pete's, and vanish again. Go find something else to do for a while; study some more, throw herself into a project so insanely time consuming that, by the time she was finished, all the normal humans she knew would be either dead or so old as to be unrecognisable. It had it's attractions. Maybe do what she and Steve had dreamed of for so long; hole up somewhere, become the wild woman of the woods, find a corner of the planet so remote, so unattractive to people that no one would ever find her.
Hell would still be waiting at the end of it, though.
Or she could go back to Pete's. Accept the pain. Accept the comfort. Repay the debt she owed the Rosicrucians in general, and their librarian in particular. Move through the agony, and carry on living. Keep looking for a way to outsmart Hell, and beat the devil.
No question really.
Shivering even harder now, she unclenched her fingers from the cigarette butt and watched the wind carry it out of her fingers and away over the cliff. Looking down at herself, she realised why she was so cold; everything she wore was soaked with Steve's blood, and the heat of his end hadn't dried it. She was colder than if she had been stood there naked; if she didn't move now no amount of thinking would save her, and she would collapse and die of exposure out here. Smiling with the irony of the thought, she stumbled back down the slope to where she had left Pete's car, started the engine, and headed back to her living lover.
Pete and the others were just finishing breakfast when the sound of the car’s engine filtered quietly through to the kitchen. Andy cocked an eyebrow at his watch.
“She was up early. You two have a row or something?”
Pete shook his head and ambled over to the coffee percolator, tipping the last of the contents of the jug into his cup and dumping three heaped spoons of sugar into it.
“Coffee with your sugar?” Asked Ian politely, earning himself a flip of the middle finger.
“Nah,” continued Pete smoothly, ignoring the interruption and blinking green eyes against the morning sunlight before resuming his place at the table, “she was gone when I woke up. Some kind of magic jiggery pokery, I ‘spect.”
“Considering what that’s meant recently you’re taking it very calmly,” snorted Vic, yawning as he made his way over to the fridge. Pete shrugged, and continued to stir the thick black coffee reflectively.
“Put the kettle on while you’re up,” he murmured absently to his bassist, tapping the spoon on the side of the mug and frowning, “she always wants tea when she’s…” his voice tailed off uncertainly, and he tipped his head on one side, as though listening to a distant sound the others couldn’t pick up.
“What did your last slave die of?” Asked Vic cheerfully, back to his friend and unaware of his strange behaviour.
“Answering back,” grinned Ian, before he turned to Pete and realised that his friend was not, temporarily, with them. “Pete?” He asked quietly. No reaction.
Vic turned to see what was going on, and raised his eyebrows at the slight form of his friend, frowning across the table at Pete.
“Something’s wrong,” he said suddenly, and jumped to his feet, knocking the chair over to land with a bang on the floor behind him.
“No shit,” said Yoz quietly, appearing out of the long hallway to lean on the frame of the kitchen door. “That premonition thing of yours is getting stronger. Still needs work, though.”
The three men froze, staring at the Mage in horror; soaked in blood that was drying to a crusty, blackened sheen, scorched and weary, she was white faced and looked drained of anything approaching life. Pete swayed a step closer to her, and stretched out a hand in compassion; she smiled drunkenly up at him, and collapsed into the nearest kitchen chair with a resounding crash. The three men fidgeted in dismay as they stared at her; she simply folded her arms before her and rested her head on them, letting out a long, gusting breath of exhaustion before tilting her face on one side and cocking an eyebrow at her watching friends.
“What? You never seen blood before?”
The men exchanged glances, unsure what was going on. Pete picked the chair up and sat down opposite his Mage, folding his arms before him in a mirror of her action. “Tea?” He asked calmly.
“Please. Four sugars.”
Vic resumed his movement toward the kettle and put it on to boil, automatically arranging mug, tea bags and milk whilst never actually taking his eyes from Yoz’ slumped form.
“What happened?” Asked Ian gently. Yoz rolled her head sideways and regarded him solemnly, dark ringed eyes dull with exhaustion.
“He died, that’s all. For good, this time.”
“Oh, Yoz.”
“Yeah. Well.” She rubbed her face on her sleeve, sighing again. “It was bound to happen, I guess; after all, everything dies.”
“Yes, but -“
“It’s over. For him, at least. For me? Well, he’s been dead to me for a long, long time now. I suppose it won’t be so hard to go back to knowing that.”
Vic passed her the mug, and looked at Ian with a raised eyebrow. From the sound of her voice, she didn’t believe what she’d just said either.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So there you go. Flashes of inspiration, bits of a tale - the bits I liked best, basically. The bits I'm happy to throw out there. Hope you liked!
The Beast and the Magus, defeated.
Pete crept into the cavern, unsure what to expect.
Looking around, he swore softly as he finally spotted the objective of his search chained to the wall, eyes closed and head hanging down, crusted blood matting her dark hair in even darker patches and swirling tattoos visible through huge rents in her clothing.
Remembering Stephen's words of warning as well as his lessons, he gingerly pushed his mind out and closed his eyes, feeling for any evidence of a trap.
Nothing. Nothing and no one here except himself, his lover, and a few rats.
Shooting out across the sandy floor, he reached Yoz and lifted her head, praying that she was still alive; she'd seemed awfully still to him.
"Yoz," he hissed, noting the rise and fall of her chest when he reached her. Supporting her weight on one arm, he struggled to get the stolen key into the lock of the manacles to free her.
"Pete," she muttered through crusted, dry lips.
"It's alright, I'm here, I'll have you out in a moment."
"Shouldn't be here," she croaked, before coughing and spitting into the dust.
"Couldn't leave you here, you know that…"
"Oh love," she moaned, and leaned her head on his shoulder. The key clicked in the lock and the manacles fell away from her wrists; barely even pausing for breath, Pete swept the small woman up into his arms and turned to make a run for it.
Tiamat was standing in front of him, arms folded and a sardonic smile on her face; flanking her were two male vampires, Stephen and one he'd never seen before.
"Oh, shit."
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Yoz sighed, voice sounding less feeble, "it's a trap."
"But I didn't feel anyone…"
Tiamat smiled more widely, and the male he didn't recognise let out a harsh snarl of laughter.
"Ignorant fuckin' cub."
Yoz tightened her arms around Pete's neck as he swore quietly. "I wouldn't have put it quite like that, love, but he's right." Her voice was sounding a little stronger now. "You shouldn't have come."
He looked deep into her eyes, and cracked a tight, brief smile. "I love you. Can't leave the woman I love to die, can I?"
"So you wish to die together, is that it?" The smooth, honeyed voice of the Queen slipped between them. "How…romantic."
Yoz bared her teeth at the sound.
"Put me down, Pete."
"But -"
"Now."
He did so, placing his hands on her shoulders as she moved to stand between him and the three vampires.
"Let him go, Tia. You've got me; I'll stay of my own will if you let him leave. I've beaten you for him once, so be a little graceful and just…" she waved her hands, ignoring Pete's tightening grip on her shoulders, "let him go."
The brutish looking male took a pace forward, a dreadful light in his eyes. "Give him to me, lady," he asked, a thin stream of drool beginning to drip from the corner of his mouth. Pete looked at Stephen; he was staring at the ceiling and looking like he wished he were somewhere, anywhere else.
"I don't think so," Tia said smoothly. "Stephen, please place Mister O'Reilly in the holding cell. Samuel, stay where you are."
"I'm not going anywhere," snapped Pete through clenched teeth as the young man approached him hesitantly.
"Go, love," murmured Yoz quietly, not looking at him but locking eyes for an instant with her former lover. "We'll think of something."
Pete hesitated, and Steve reached out to take his arm.
"Don't make me hurt you," he said quietly, "because if I have to, I will."
Pete squeezed Yoz' shoulder in farewell and followed the vampire, unable to speak. He was placed in a hollow in the rock which had an iron barred door; barely even a cage, he had room to squat, or stand, but nothing else. He swallowed hard as he watched his beloved Magus standing alone in the middle of the floor, battered and weary, but still with a defiant angle to her head as she faced down her adversaries.
"I think," smiled the ancient creature, with a tilt of her head and an oily smile, "we need to show our guest just what happens to humans defiant enough to stand against us."
"Kill her and you'll get nothing from me," snarled Pete, gripping the bars of his cell and shaking them hard. "Do you hear me? Nothing!"
"Oh, she won't die. She'll wish she was, though, before Samuel is through with her…"
Steve and Pete exchanged a look of consternation. Oh, shit…
Tia turned to walk away across the cavern, heading for the carved wooden throne on its raised dais on the far side. She motioned Steve to seat himself at her right hand and rested a hand on his head. "This will be good for you too, sweetlet," she purred, suddenly clenching her fist in his hair and giving his head a hard shake before relaxing her fingers, "purge any…residual feelings you may have had for the human. Samuel?"
The creature standing before Yoz grinned, then curled it’s back into a lumpen arch and began to change form. Pete watched in horror as the vampire's flesh ran like wax, reorganising itself into a twisted, hairy approximation of an animal's form. Specifically, a werewolf.
But the hunched creature menacing Yoz had nothing in common with the lithe, graceful form of a true wolf. The only possible connection might be that the coarse, hairy coat was grey, and that the long muzzle was undeniably based upon a canine model. Other than that it was a nightmare creation of twisted muscle and bone, sharp clawed paws and dreadful hunger.
"Cool," smiled Yoz calmly, then took off running. Pete's heart leapt as he saw her break for freedom; but all too soon it became apparent that the effort was going to be futile. The beast leapt ahead of her in a series of hideous cat jumps, swinging around to bar her way with a snarl. Never even pausing, she changed direction and fled back the way she had come, jinking and twisting like a coursed hare. She was exhausted and hurt before she began the chase; she had no chance of escape, but still she ran.
She had to be tiring, Pete thought as he watched, knuckles white where he gripped the bars tightly; sure enough, she was slowing slightly, having to make more frequent turns to stay away from the hunting claws.
With a final burst of desperate energy she made one final change of direction; Pete didn't even realise where she was going until she doubled back, twisted, jumped, and stopped outside his cell, gripping his hands through the bars and panting blood-tinged foam over her chin from the mad effort. Her eyes were rimmed in red, blood vessels strained to bursting by her instinctive endeavour to stay ahead of the hunting beast.
"God, Yoz," he moaned, torn between looking into her eyes and watching the brute stalking her.
"Love you…Pete," she panted, and for the very first time he saw the coldness of fear creep into her eyes. "Please…"
"Anything." The beast was gathering itself for a spring, lowering it’s head and tensing gross, misshapen - but undeniably powerful - muscles.
"Don't watch…"
Her voice was cut off with a yell as the vampire leapt on her from behind, crushing her briefly against the bars with it’s massive weight and squeezing what little breath she had left out of her. Pete's clutching fingers touched her face for a single moment, and their eyes met for one last time before she was dragged away from him, struggling and swearing as the huge creature began to tear the rags of her clothes from her with teeth and claws.
Pete realised what was going to happen, then, and began to batter his fists bloody on the bars of his cell, screaming furiously at the creature called Samuel, Tiamat, Steve, and even a God who he didn't really believe in, begging them to stop what was going to happen. No-one answered.
Yoz rolled and kicked out viciously, even biting at a paw where it swiped across her face; the animal squealed and reared back in pain, giving her a chance to wriggle free and make another bid to escape. No chance. It recovered its bearings and brought her down once more, raking her back with its claws before grabbing one shoulder with sharp, tearing teeth, shaking her and flinging her across the floor like a terrier with a rat.
She rolled to a halt not far from Pete's cell, crumpled in a bleeding heap. He squatted down and reached his hand out as far as it would go, begging all the while under his breath that she be alive, please let her be alive…
He moaned when she opened her eyes and blinked at him in confusion. She began to stretch her hand out towards him but before she could complete the movement she was seized once more by the creature and dragged away, clamped firmly in its teeth and dragged under its body as it moved on all fours to the centre of the cavern. It dropped her there and squatted over her, looking to its mistress for another command.
Pete could see Yoz moving slowly, groggily, under the beast's stomach, trapped against its foul, hairy body. He hoped like hell her tattoos were at full strength; no normal human could endure what she was going through. His attention was snapped across to the dais on the far side of the cave; Samuel's attention was fixed on his mistress as she watched the whole scene, seemingly with amusement.
"Oh, go on then Samuel," she laughed lightly, in the tone of one bestowing a treat to a favoured pet, "since you want to so badly."
The creature began to lick his lover, all over her body; she groaned and tried to move away, but he snarled and held her down with one taloned paw before continuing to lick and drool on her, paying particular attention to her breasts and groin. It was only when Pete noticed with horror that the beast was developing a large erection that he surged to his feet and screamed again.
"NO!"
Tiamat gestured at her pet, and it halted in its ministrations, trembling, drooling, and whining softly, begging to be allowed to continue.
"Mister O'Reilly?" Smiled the vampire Queen.
"Stop this!" Pete yelled, shaking the bars of his cage as hard as he could.
"Will you join with us, of your own free will? Become one of us?"
He looked back at Yoz, and realised she was watching him. Her eyes drilled into him across the intervening space, and the expression on her face was clear. Don't you dare…
"Will you let her go?"
Tiamat laughed. "No. But her death will be quick, and Samuel's fun will be spoiled. That is all I will offer."
Pete closed his eyes and rested his head on the pitted bars. No choice, then.
"Go fuck yourself," he replied coldly, never once opening his eyes.
"Samuel," rolled Tia, with relish, "you may continue."
Despite Yoz' plea to him not to watch, Pete couldn't help but open his eyes and observe through his tears and pain what was happening. Yoz was swearing breathily as the creature clamped his jaws around the back of her neck, hard enough to draw blood but, presumably, not hard enough to crush; lifting her with a combination of jaws and one paw under her chest groping for her breasts he dragged her to her knees.
Pete closed his eyes as the beast entered his lover roughly; when he heard her scream weakly with pain he turned around completely, and threw up.
Yoz was in Hell. Not only were the bites and scratches excruciatingly painful, but the grip on her neck hurt like a bastard, to say nothing of the talons slicing into the soft skin of her breasts; her knees were scraped raw and bleeding against the sandy floor of the cavern, and when she felt herself violated by the cold cock of the beast she couldn't help herself, and cried out miserably. It didn't seem like it was ever going to stop; she could hear the beast grunting softly as it thrust itself into her, forcing itself ever deeper into her flesh. She tried struggling, but that only seemed to inflame the beast's passion; it panted hotly across the skin of her neck and the thrusting got faster, harder. She groaned between her teeth and tried to go limp; it just pulled her tighter into its stinking body and made a series of snorting noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Part of her wanted to lose her temper completely, fight the beast so hard that it would have no choice but to kill her; but she could hear Pete weeping quietly in his cell, and knew that as long as he was alive she had to stay alive. Where there was life, it was said, there was hope; and perhaps Tiamat would be so sated after this little floorshow that she would make a mistake.
The beast stiffened, shoving itself harder into her as it came; she felt it spray her insides with its filthy cold ejaculate, and cursed under her breath. The grip on her neck loosened as she was dropped into the dirt, and she felt the softening prick withdraw itself from her aching, torn flesh, dribbling a mixture of blood and cum across her form. She rolled up into a ball, and hoped like hell that Tiamat was going to be satisfied with one lot of public humiliation for the night. She heard the strange sucking, grinding noise that signified her attacker returning to his human form, and felt his wad of chilly spit hit her on the back.
"Bitch," he snarled, before walking away.
Faintly, she heard the woman giving orders, then the sounds of two sets of feet leaving the cavern. She lay still, suspecting a trick; then felt soft, cold hands gently touching her head.
"Oh, shit, Yoz," said a familiar voice filled with pain, "I didn't know…if I'd known I would have…"
"Would have what?" snapped Pete from his tiny cell. "Jumped in there to defend her? I doubt it. You spineless bastard."
Yoz groaned as Steve helped her sit up. "Don't touch me," she muttered, too tired and hurt to do anything about it.
"Look, Tia's asked me to clean you up then chain you back to the wall." He glanced over his shoulder at Pete, "if you promise he won't do anything stupid I'll let him do it. Deal?"
"Ask him," she replied flatly, staring at the floor.
The young man looked at Pete. "Nothing stupid," he warned. Pete raised his hands, although his expression was dark. Steve left them for a moment before returning with a steaming bucket of water and a pile of rags. "All I could do," he said softly, before going across to let Pete out of his cell.
Pete flung the door open, catching the young vampire a crack across the shins; Steve snarled and showed his fangs and Pete subsided with a growl of his own. All thoughts of revenge evaporated, however, as he went to his knees beside Yoz.
"Jesus," he breathed as he took in the extent of her injuries. She turned to look at him with a weak smile.
"Not a pretty sight, huh?" she asked, before her eyes filled with tears. Pete folded her into his arms, heedless of the filth and blood that caked her skin, and rocked her gently as she cried into his chest. He stroked her hair, and told her she was so beautiful, and brave, and wonderful, and how much he loved her, and how they would win and get out of there and be together…
He cried for a while then too, and finally they simply sat and clung to each other like children in a storm, taking comfort from the nearness of another living being.
"I hate to interrupt," sighed Steve quietly from where he had been watching glumly nearby, "but I have to be getting back shortly. She'll be suspicious if it takes too much longer."
Shooting him a filthy look, Pete gently lifted Yoz' chin with a finger. "Hey love. I have to get you cleaned up, OK?"
She nodded, and between them they began to remove the worst of the muck from her injuries. Thankfully, most of them were superficial; her natural healing talents and tattoos had protected her from the most savage of the physical injuries. The bites on her shoulder and neck were the worst; she cursed between gritted teeth as Pete used the cleanest of the rags to gently sponge the saliva and crusted blood from them until they were clean.
She rose unsteadily to her feet to allow him to clean off her legs, leaning on his shoulder with her head drooping; but when he came to try and clean the mess between them she stopped him.
"Yoz -"
"I'll do that."
She tried to stand on her own, but stumbled; he stood and folded her in his arms again. "Love, we need to get you clean. I know it won't help much but…please, let me try."
She looked into his face, saw the honesty and the love there, and nodded. Dropping back to his knees, Pete finished the job as gently as he could, trying not to gag on the stench the creature had left on her. When he was done he drew her down into his lap and tucked his coat around them both; she was shivering, teeth chattering, and didn't feel like she was ever going to stop.
"Time's up."
Pete looked up sharply. "You can't do it, man. She'll freeze to death."
"She won't. She's stronger than that."
Pete shook his head, stroking her hair gently. "Normally. But now? She won't survive the night, and you know it."
The vampire looked away, then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "OK. Give her your coat. And if you freeze to death instead don’t say I didn’t bloody warn you."
Pete struggled out of his heavy greatcoat and tucked it around Yoz' shoulders. She stood up and looked him straight in the eye, trying hard not to weep; he kissed her gently and took a pace back. Allowing the vampire to reattach her to the chains while he stood and did nothing was possibly the hardest thing he had ever done; she followed him meekly back over to the wall where he chained her up before returning to Pete's side.
"In you go."
He measured his chances of overwhelming the smaller man; then glanced back at Yoz' slumped form against the far wall and let out a breath of exasperation. "Alright."
He flinched as the door clanged shut behind him.
"Pete." Steve's voice was low. "I know you have a weapon with you. I don't know what it is, and I don't want to know. But I need to know what you need to use it, if I'm to give you a chance."
Pete turned back and eyed Stephen suspiciously. "I don't know what you mean."
He flung up his hands. "Fine! Whatever. I've done all I can to help you, and still you don't trust me. I wash my hands of you." He stormed off towards the exit his mistress had taken, then paused at the doorway. "Both of you," he sighed softly, then left.
"Shit," muttered Pete.
"That could have gone better," murmured Yoz in quiet agreement.
Pete slid down the back wall of his tiny cell and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. Could be a long night tomorrow."
"OK," she answered sleepily, curling up in his coat with a clink of her chains.
He listened to her breathing until it smoothed out and became regular, indicating sleep had finally come to her despite the pain. He set himself to watch over her; he may not be able to do much, but he could sure as hell give her a warning if anything else came for them.
Heedless of the tears running down his cheeks, he commenced his lonely vigil over the woman he loved.
***********
OK, so this bit is very near the end. All the enemies are vanquished - as you might imagine - but there are loose ends to tie up. And one of the loose ends decides to break her heart as a going-away present...
Goodnight sweet prince.
They met again on the cliff top, an hour before dawn.
"Hey," Steve called softly as he watched Yoz approach, warily.
"Hey yourself," she replied quietly, offering him a cigarette. He accepted it and tilted his head delicately as he allowed her to light it for him. The sound of her lighter closing with a snap rang loud in the pre-dawn quiet; the only other sounds were the gulls murmuring on their ledges below them, and the ceaseless susurration of the sea.
They looked out toward the horizon for a while, each lost in their own thoughts.
"So," she sighed in the end, "to what do I owe this pleasure? I mean, I don't hear a word for weeks and then all of a sudden you want to see me, here, now, today. The sun's about to come up, and I don't see any convenient hideys for you. Tiamat could walk in the sun without fear, but you can't. So what's up?"
"My time."
Yoz turned sharply. Steve was watching her, hands tucked in his pockets and smiling wryly. He looked…peaceful. As though he'd finally come to a conclusion, and was happy with it.
"I figured that if you aren't afraid to die, then why should I be? After all, you and I know that death isn't the end…perhaps it's time to let my awareness rejoin my soul, and see what Karma has in store for us next."
Her voice was quietly regretful. "Nothing good, Chap."
He chuckled softly in reply. "I'm sure. But the time for fear is finished."
She nodded sharply. "Righto. So you're going to hang out here until the sun comes up? I'll be off then. Don't really want to watch, thanks."
He reached out and touched her arm, stilling her movement to turn and go. "Yoz…please. I don't want to be alone."
"I see," she replied, still staring inland, to the point eastward where the sun would rise, "so you want me to watch you die twice, is that it?" She turned to look at him again, then stepped in closer so that she could smooth her fingers across his cheek. "I watched you die once, and I thought that I would die of grief as well. Then I found out what had happened to you, and my heart broke again. Now you ask me to watch you exit this world once more? When did you become so cruel?"
"Please," he whispered, voice catching in his throat.
She closed her eyes, frowning as the pain clotted in her chest and weighed down her world.
"I can't deny you," and her voice was so low that only his enhanced hearing caught it, "all I can do is beg. Please. Don't do this to me. Not again."
He kissed her, gently, and she moaned into his mouth as she held him close, burning into her memory the feel of his arms around her, the press of his body against hers, the shape and weight and feel of him here, now. Above the sea, below the clouds, waiting for the sun to come up and burn her love into nothingness and dust.
They parted, and he gently nuzzled at her face. Still clinging to each other like drowning sailors bereft of a spar, he sighed cold breath onto her cheek and told her the last, worst part.
"I need something else."
"Oh God…"
"You need to hold me here. Otherwise some sort of…survival instinct will kick in and I'll run; suicide for vampires isn't as easy as you might think."
Finding one of her hands, he passed a smoothly chilly steel spike to her. She tightened her grip on it and trembled miserably, squeezing her eyes tightly shut in an effort to stop the tears; unsuccessfully, as one lonely drop found it's way through the barrier and ran down her cheek.
"You don't need to get my heart. Just…hold me down. Until the sun comes up."
"Steve," she croaked, pain thick in her tight throat.
"Sssh, love," he murmured, gently pushing her hair away from her eyes, "you always were the brave one. I could always rely on you to do what had to be done."
She kissed him again, tasting and feeling and saying goodbye without words.
Then slipped the sharpened end of the spike between his ribs, and pushed until she felt it lodge in his spine where it could go no further. He hissed in a breath, filling lungs with air and feeling the chill of the morning for the first time as it spread from the cold steel inside his body. Gasping, the strength left his legs with a rush and he sank to the ground, Yoz clinging to him and following him down.
She cradled him in her arms, his head resting on her shoulder as he leaned back on her, all the strength run from his body like water. She kneeled in the damp grass, arms around him, and looked into his dimming eyes, searching for an answer.
"Thanks, Yoz."
"God, Steve…I don't know if I can do this."
Cold black blood soaked his shirt below the jacket and stained her hands where they comforted him helplessly, running over his body to drench the soft, worn blue jeans she had dragged on so thoughtlessly when she'd received the summons that morning. He closed his eyes and smiled faintly, face paling to chalky white even as she watched through tear filled eyes.
"You were ever stronger than you thought, love," he sighed softly, chest hitching more slowly now.
She moaned as the eastern sky brightened, warning of the sun's arrival very shortly. The pain was making it hard to breathe; every breath she drew in seemed made of something corrosive, and her lungs burned with the agony of continued existence.
"I love you, Stephen. I would have married you like a shot, if you'd asked me; but we didn't believe in it back then, did we?"
He blinked his eyes open with an effort, and lifted a hand to brush the tears away from her eyes. "No. Maybe another time…"
She smiled and sniffed. "Yeah. Dammit, Steve, I love you. Don't die on me again. Not like this."
Her throat closed, and she couldn't even cry properly; just make thin choked noises as she watched the growing light reflected in her lover's nut brown eyes, shimmering on his impossibly long lashes. He always did have eyes that were too pretty for a bloke, she thought absently as he blinked up at her, too weak and yet full of emotion to speak.
"Love you," he finally murmured, as the first rays of the sun began to cover his skin with pale ashen char, then arched his back and cried out as the burning pain hit him.
Protecting her own skin with a thought, she rocked him in her arms as the sensation of weight faded and the flickering flames died down around her, leaving her kneeling in a scorched circle, covered with a fine grey ash that was being carried away on the freshening inland breeze. She stared at her hands for a moment; reddened but not burned from the heat of Steve's final departure, she stared and stared as if the sight of their lines and ridges might, somehow, make the experience more real.
It didn't help.
She rose stiffly to her feet, walked to the cliff edge and fumbled clumsily for her cigarettes. Finally managing to extract one from the packet, she lit it with a shaking hand and stared sightlessly out at the wheeling gulls as she smoked it in the cold grey light of dawn.
Turned out nice again.
Picking up the stray thought from a tired delivery driver, well out of sight on the road behind her, she shook with the force of the emotions that raged through her mind. Once the storm had passed, she stood and shivered for a while longer, clutching the greyly dead stub of the cigarette in shaking fingers and tried to think about what on Earth she should do next.
She could jump off the cliff. Angling her teary vision down, she sniffed hard and watched the tide rubbing deceptively smooth rollers over the rocks below, drawing back fingers and veins of foam only to roll around and caress them again, a never ending motion. Well, yes. And then go straight to Hell, where certain entities would be waiting for her, gleefully.
Or she could just…go. Snag her gear from Pete's, and vanish again. Go find something else to do for a while; study some more, throw herself into a project so insanely time consuming that, by the time she was finished, all the normal humans she knew would be either dead or so old as to be unrecognisable. It had it's attractions. Maybe do what she and Steve had dreamed of for so long; hole up somewhere, become the wild woman of the woods, find a corner of the planet so remote, so unattractive to people that no one would ever find her.
Hell would still be waiting at the end of it, though.
Or she could go back to Pete's. Accept the pain. Accept the comfort. Repay the debt she owed the Rosicrucians in general, and their librarian in particular. Move through the agony, and carry on living. Keep looking for a way to outsmart Hell, and beat the devil.
No question really.
Shivering even harder now, she unclenched her fingers from the cigarette butt and watched the wind carry it out of her fingers and away over the cliff. Looking down at herself, she realised why she was so cold; everything she wore was soaked with Steve's blood, and the heat of his end hadn't dried it. She was colder than if she had been stood there naked; if she didn't move now no amount of thinking would save her, and she would collapse and die of exposure out here. Smiling with the irony of the thought, she stumbled back down the slope to where she had left Pete's car, started the engine, and headed back to her living lover.
Pete and the others were just finishing breakfast when the sound of the car’s engine filtered quietly through to the kitchen. Andy cocked an eyebrow at his watch.
“She was up early. You two have a row or something?”
Pete shook his head and ambled over to the coffee percolator, tipping the last of the contents of the jug into his cup and dumping three heaped spoons of sugar into it.
“Coffee with your sugar?” Asked Ian politely, earning himself a flip of the middle finger.
“Nah,” continued Pete smoothly, ignoring the interruption and blinking green eyes against the morning sunlight before resuming his place at the table, “she was gone when I woke up. Some kind of magic jiggery pokery, I ‘spect.”
“Considering what that’s meant recently you’re taking it very calmly,” snorted Vic, yawning as he made his way over to the fridge. Pete shrugged, and continued to stir the thick black coffee reflectively.
“Put the kettle on while you’re up,” he murmured absently to his bassist, tapping the spoon on the side of the mug and frowning, “she always wants tea when she’s…” his voice tailed off uncertainly, and he tipped his head on one side, as though listening to a distant sound the others couldn’t pick up.
“What did your last slave die of?” Asked Vic cheerfully, back to his friend and unaware of his strange behaviour.
“Answering back,” grinned Ian, before he turned to Pete and realised that his friend was not, temporarily, with them. “Pete?” He asked quietly. No reaction.
Vic turned to see what was going on, and raised his eyebrows at the slight form of his friend, frowning across the table at Pete.
“Something’s wrong,” he said suddenly, and jumped to his feet, knocking the chair over to land with a bang on the floor behind him.
“No shit,” said Yoz quietly, appearing out of the long hallway to lean on the frame of the kitchen door. “That premonition thing of yours is getting stronger. Still needs work, though.”
The three men froze, staring at the Mage in horror; soaked in blood that was drying to a crusty, blackened sheen, scorched and weary, she was white faced and looked drained of anything approaching life. Pete swayed a step closer to her, and stretched out a hand in compassion; she smiled drunkenly up at him, and collapsed into the nearest kitchen chair with a resounding crash. The three men fidgeted in dismay as they stared at her; she simply folded her arms before her and rested her head on them, letting out a long, gusting breath of exhaustion before tilting her face on one side and cocking an eyebrow at her watching friends.
“What? You never seen blood before?”
The men exchanged glances, unsure what was going on. Pete picked the chair up and sat down opposite his Mage, folding his arms before him in a mirror of her action. “Tea?” He asked calmly.
“Please. Four sugars.”
Vic resumed his movement toward the kettle and put it on to boil, automatically arranging mug, tea bags and milk whilst never actually taking his eyes from Yoz’ slumped form.
“What happened?” Asked Ian gently. Yoz rolled her head sideways and regarded him solemnly, dark ringed eyes dull with exhaustion.
“He died, that’s all. For good, this time.”
“Oh, Yoz.”
“Yeah. Well.” She rubbed her face on her sleeve, sighing again. “It was bound to happen, I guess; after all, everything dies.”
“Yes, but -“
“It’s over. For him, at least. For me? Well, he’s been dead to me for a long, long time now. I suppose it won’t be so hard to go back to knowing that.”
Vic passed her the mug, and looked at Ian with a raised eyebrow. From the sound of her voice, she didn’t believe what she’d just said either.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So there you go. Flashes of inspiration, bits of a tale - the bits I liked best, basically. The bits I'm happy to throw out there. Hope you liked!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 03:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 01:51 pm (UTC)Thanks for throwing these up on your LJ. Great work as always :)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 11:39 pm (UTC)Have you ever drawn Yoz?
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Date: 2007-10-31 04:08 am (UTC)Well, I say no, but what I mean is 'not and produced anything I would willingly share with the world'. ;)