#PartSix

[echoweil]

your icon keeps confusing me i think its me. videogame renas unite

my pfp is an evil version of yours, one rena two different states of mind

[erextmoved]

🍒

what im thinkimg is those videos on the internet from buzzfeed or smthn that sealed yr fate . if u didnt watch those tho then idk what it is. maybe the gay fairy

[ilan]

🚫 you're the only one ill let call me out in the future ok

of course anything for you rhea. you literally have a jojo url. also > joji fan

[hopearcana]

🦩

🎶

[saintsnsinnersbdb]

Awakening: Trouble with a Capital T Part 6

Written by @ShadowsTwins, @MedicinaeMedic and @ChosenTalia.

Talia: Another week passed where I had been consistently drugged and beaten by the dealer Rhett had given me to. I took the violence in utter silence. My cries the first days had only made it worse. 

Broken jaw 

Broken ribs

Swollen nose

More needles.

They were making me more dependent on them. I had seen it in movies, but I had given up. I didn’t fight anything anymore. 

I was woken from a brief nap by being dragged up by my hair. Despite the pain I stayed quiet.

“Time to sell that ass of yours. You’ll be nice or I’ll fucking kill you.” He pressed the barrel of a gun to the side of my head and released the safety to prove his point. 

I wished he would. 

I was shoved toward a shower and told to clean up, prepare. My “client” would be here in ten minutes. And I needed to scream for him. 

After a shower I was given a skimpy white negligee and nothing more. I was supposed to look like an alluring virgin. Maybe it would work. I laid down on the bed and awaited my fate. I never imagined my first time would be like this, I always imagined it would be with my mate, someone I would love and cherish. Not this. 

A silent sob wracked my decimated body. Soon the door opened and in stepped a male, mid forties and wearing way too much cologne. 

“You’re even prettier than your picture Little One.” He mused as he walked closer and moved hair from my face. 

He removed his clothes and the bed dipped as he got in next to me. I could feel his sex against my side. I wanted to hurl. 

“No. Don’t touch me.” I weakly shoved at him.

“I paid for you. Now lay back and take it.” He spread my legs and moved himself between them. 

“No!” My voice was more forceful this time. I brought my legs up and pushed him away.

Something snapped in him. He backhanded next hard enough to make me see stars. Fuck. I yelped. As he changed from the slap to punching me, I felt the bones of my eye socket fracture. My eye was already swelling.

This couldn’t be how I lost my virginity. Some dirty drug den. Even if I wasn’t worthy of being a chosen or even respected I deserved to not be a whore. I could learn to live a normal life.

The fight that ensued was brutal. He gripped my thighs and tried to spread my legs again I could feel the bruises on my thighs form. Was he a vampire? Shit this hurt and the drugs in my system did little to dull the pain now. 

Everything hurt. 

Panic. I had to fight. I shoved off the bed and started attacking him. Biting, scratching. I don’t see his movement or what he has in his hand until it’s too late. 

He shoved a knife into my stomach and twisted it. Everything stopped moving. He stabbed me. I took a deep breath and started to fall.

No. If I stopped now I would be raped and killed. I needed to die with at least a little dignity. I stumbled out of the bedroom holding the knife still. Blood bubbled from my mouth. 

“Fuck.”  The dealer growled and yanked my arm. 

I finally pulled the knife from my body and slashed at him. I caught him and several people reacted. I was bleeding faster. I wouldn’t last long, I had to get away. I wildly slashed at the men who advanced before I backed out one of the doors and took off running. 

Glass from the street sliced into my feet as I ran into the downtown area through the alleyways. I was filthy and injured. The blood would be an easy trail to follow. I didn’t realize I was behind Zero Sum when I collapsed against the wall, leaving a trail of blood as I slid down next to a pile of trash. 

My body started to feel lighter as I bled out. “I’m so sorry” I whispered to the Scribe, pain had broken me. Physical, mental, spiritual I was done. I welcomed death.

Trez: {I was helping one of the bartenders with the trash bags. When the door open to the back the first thing that hit me was the smell of blood and it was very strong. 

I drop the bags and went looking to see if someone was back here. I stop in my tracks when I see who it was. Just to make sure it was her I pulled my cell out of my pocket and check the picture I had. It was her it’s Talia. 

I dialed Manny number and told him to get over here now. I called my girls to bring me the first aid kit.

I put some gauze on the wound on your stomach as we waited for Manny to get here.}

Manny: [I was sitting at my desk looking over some papers when my cell rang. I answered it, as I listen to what Trez was telling me I had gotten up and was grabbing things that I needed to put in the med van. 

After I hang up with Trez, I ran out to the van and headed for the club.

Once I reach there, I threw open the back doors.] 

Bring her inside here Trez.

Talia: My body was completely limp as I was picked up. I couldn’t feel anything except the weightlessness, and the cold. I was on the verge of embracing death’s peaceful touch. Just a little further.

My body didn’t move. Slowly more and more shut down. I couldn’t lift my eyes or my body. I could hear voices, but I didn’t respond. 

I didn’t want them to save me. Couldn’t they let me have this?  I didn’t deserve their attempts. I begged for the light to claim me and take me to the ever after.

Trez: {I pick Talia up, place her on the table and step back so that Manny can do his work. 

I told the others to head inside and that they could go home early. 

I stood by in case Manny need a hand and a vein.}

Manny: [I started to work in Talia wound on her stomach. I did the surgery on her stomach to stop the bleeding. 

Once I was finish with the surgery, I walk over to Trez to tell him that I was taking her back to the Manson. 

He said that he would drive us back since I had to keep an eye on Talia vitals and make sure she pulled through this.]

Talia: The cold spread through my body. I could faintly hear the beep and whir of machines.  I was breaking all over again. I didn’t want this, did I? Did I deserve it? 

There was a spike in the monitor. Someone yelled “she’s dying.”

Then it all went dark. 

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep ...

[evangeline-bdb]

Interesting: Secrets Revealed Part 6

*My shift at #IronMask was like any other night. The rats without tails were in their various corners or hidden behind curtains in their semi-private booths doing Scribe knows what from making out, fooling around or even full-on sex to taking any range of drug paraphernalia. 

The #Shadows ran a lucrative business of alcohol, girls, bookie and drugs. What was most surprising is how they treated their employees. Better than any human I had ever worked for. Ever. It was refreshing. 

I was dressed in the uniform black. In a soft cotton short sleeve v-neck and a part of black jeans and some boots. I began filling drink requests as the patrons sat at the bar and the waitresses needed their orders. It was early in the night since I had the first shift so I would be off in just a few hours since it was just a weekday and not a busy weekend. The flow of the night was pretty uneventful until from the corner of my eye, I could see very large men … wait most likely males come through the club and beeline to the VIP area. Dropped in leather and I could tell the bulk of their upper bodies were weapons. Mostly likely the infamous #Brotherhood. Interesting.

It was about 10:00 pm in the evening and I wondered what they were doing frequenting a nightclub. I wondered if perhaps the rumors /were/ true that they no longer really protected the race due to their dwindling numbers and spent their time at clubs … that didn’t sound right. I watched from the corner of my eye and they instead went straight to the backroom to the office instead of getting a table and having drinks.

Now … that’s more interesting … were the #Shadows in league with the. #Brotherhood? The #Shadows would be quite the ally … with their unique gifts. Soon enough … the night got busier that I never saw them leave … but that didn’t mean they didn’t use the back exit as so few do. About 2:00 am, my early shift ended and I could go back to the recon of my target.

Once I left the club, I dematerialized to the roof of the target’s home and could feel him inside with his doggen. Then just after 2:30am, the blackout Bentley reversed out the garage and began its journey back to downtown Caldwell, where I dematerialized every few hundred feet from rooftop to trees and towers as I followed him to a nondescript building that had no sign but looked like a strange garage within an alleyway and not that big where two regular guys stood around. Interesting.

I dematerialized down the street as I watch my target take out something from his pocket and showed the men and entered the building. I took my ponytail down and ran my fingers through my hair a few times, loosen my v-neck a bit by pulling it down and revealing the assets a little more and made my way to the guards, hoping it wouldn’t be any trouble getting past them.*

[bellarahgony]

Nightmares Part Six

Written with @IfOnly4MyNallas.

Bella: *I woke up from my nap with Nalla with a start. Nalla was snoring lightly beside me hugging her baby dragon Rhage had given her concentrating on her face as if she was trying really hard to grow.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and realized that these nightmares were getting out of control. Zsadist was worried about me. I he needed all his concentration out on the field. I’d never forgive myself if I ever became a distraction for him causing him to be hurt.

I picked up my phone and texted Mary to see if she wanted to have some coffee or hot chocolate with me in the library. It was time to talk to someone about these dreams. 

Zsadist: Wrath had allowed me to cut back on my hours, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t have things to do. Tonight, I was on rotation, but I had nothing scheduled for after that, no training of, or driving the trainees home, no one-on-one sessions, and no sparring with any of the other males of the manse. Tonight I would actually be able to come home after fighting, put my young to bed, and see my shellan before she fell asleep. This was going to be a first in a very long time.

I took care in strapping on my gear. It was something I did almost every night, but I was methodical about it. Mary has said that my OCD tendencies spark from all the past trauma in my life. Now, my brain wants to control anything it can, right down to where and how all my weapons are strapped onto my body. A slight smile crossed my features as I thought about all that Mary had helped me with, over the years. She made me realize why I did a lot of the things I did, and it made me come to grips with who I was and who I wanted to be. She made me face things I didn’t want to, and head on. It took a while, but I was in such a better place now, then I had been for over two centuries. Well, recently I had been having some issues, but I was still better off than I had been a decade ago. I could only hope that once Bella spoke to Mary, Mary could do the same for her. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle, and it wouldn’t happen overnight, but if anyone could help Bella with what she was going through, it would be Mary.

Bella: *It was almost time for Last Meal by the time Mary and I were done talking. We spent hours in the library talking about those weeks I had been kidnapped those many years ago. Mary went down the hall and stairs and straight into the kitchen. She apparently wanted to see if could get away with baking cookies for Rhage before Fritz catches her.

I shook my head and the image of my head of Fritz keeping track of Mary will preparing the rest of Last Meal. For such an older doggen, he could still multitask like a young vampire. I head towards the playroom where Beth was watching the kids and see if Nalla needed to change clothing before Last Meal.

Walking into the playroom, I witness Nalla just as she flicked some blue paint at LW with Beth laughing at their antics. My head fell back in laughter as I pulled my phone out to take a picture. Nalla was covered in all sorts of colors. “Mama!!” she yells with a big grin. “How beautiful, baby.” I commented as she proudly showed me her artwork. Beth hands me a towel I could wrap around her so I wouldn't get paint on myself and we said our quick see you laters as we retreated to our suites to get the kids cleaned up for dinner.

As I gave Nalla a bath, I thought about Mary’s suggestion to perhaps start training with the trainees. At least in self defense. She thought that if I could defend myself that I would feel more powerful and more confident. Then perhaps in my dreams a different outcome would manifest. Nalla was singing and playing with the bubbles as my mind wondered about how Z would react.*

Zsadist: It had been one of the craziest nights I had experienced in a while. I had been paired with Phury and it was as if we had walked into a hive of lessers. We barely had time to call for backup before the action got rough. There were about twelve of them, and the two of us. Thankfully, Phury and I knew how to work as a team. We may not have been raised together, and may have lived a lifetime apart, but we were twins to our marrow. He zigged and I zagged. We were Yin and Yang when it came down to fighting. I was lean and fast. He had strength and power. Together we were virtually unstoppable. But, twelve were just a couple too many for the two of us to handle. We were warriors, we weren’t stupid. We knew when to call for backup and tonight was that night.

JM and Q were the two that showed up in an instant. As much of a hothead as Q was, I respected him. He was almost as scrappy as I used to be. And, JM was the one that saw the fight as a whole and plotted it out before he jumped in. Between the four of us, we had the situation under control in about 15 minutes.

It’s amazing how fast things can happen. A battle that seems almost insurmountable can be won in the blink of an eye. Yet, when it comes to battles of another nature, like the mind, they can take years, sometimes decades to barely gain a footing.

At the end of the fight, Phury called for Butch to run cleanup. As soon as Butch’s feet touched the ground, I was gone, dematted back to the manse. I could do my debrief tomorrow. Tonight, I was going to see my shellan and my young to bed.

*****

It took me all of ten minutes to scrub the lesser blood off my body down in the training center. I never took this shit to my quarters. I kept anything to do with the lessers as far away from my family as possible. It was kinda like church and state. There was work and there was life. It wasn’t so long ago that my life was encapsulated by fighting. Now, I had my life with Bella and Nalla. If it weren’t for them…

I quickly tossed my soiled clothes into the laundry room, on the way by, and raced up two sets of stairs to my bed chambers. As I slowly opened the door and walked in, I called out, “Bella?”

Bella: *I was still lost in my thoughts as Nalla said “Papa” and I realized that Zsadist had returned home. Relief washed through me as I could her his baritone voice echoed into the bathroom.* In here! *I responded as I finished rinsing Nalla’s hair from the shampoo as she continued to play with some bath toys. Z walked in and his beautiful citron eyes focused on me and he kissed my neck on both sides before giving me a kiss. Then he pulled a towel from the rack and opened it up for Nalla to snuggle in and dry off. I smiled as Nalla giggled as she shook her hair making all the water goes everywhere. Z teasingly scold her for the mess but smiles. I picked up another towel to dry off her hair as we both starting drying her off together and getting her ready for bed.

We had a routine, after a bath and brushing her teeth, Z and her laid in our mating bed to read a book until she fell asleep and he carried her to her nursery. I watched for a bit as I got myself for bed. I could hear their voices together, him reading and her babbling in baby talk with a few words here and there. Zsadist had come a long way since she was born and I’m forever grateful to the Virgin Scribe that our family was whole and healthy.

I wondered how to broach the subject that Mary had suggested. I wasn’t sure if Zsadist would take it as thought he could not protect me. Of course he could. Mary’s thought was that perhaps it would build my courage and confidence in myself. It was about me and my nightmares and what I needed to get rid of them.*

Zsadist: I can’t even tell you how good it felt to be able to do all this again. On nights that I actually made it home from work early enough to see my young to bed, this had been our routine. However, those nights had been few and far between for quite some time, so to be able to lie back, in my mated bed, and read to Nalla as she fought to stay awake, was like what I expect walking into The Fade must be like, pure fucking heaven. She cooed and babbled on, as if to respond to what I was reading, and every time I thought she was asleep, her eyes would pop back open and she would start all over. She didn’t realize that this wasn’t one of those rare nights that she would see her sire before bed. She had no way of knowing that tomorrow would be the same, and the night after that, and the night after that. She would take some time to get into this new routine.

Finally, after two books, both read twice, she finally knocked out hard. So, I quietly put the books down on the bedside table and slid my arms under her tiny frame. For a second, I thought she might wake up again, but she didn’t. She just rolled over in my arms, slinging one around my neck and started snoring again.

Gently, I walked her into the adjoining nursery and laid her down in her crib. I stole a few minutes to watch her sleep before heading back into Bella and my part of the suite.

“She’s out.” I let Bella know before walking over and wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her neck from behind. “So, how was your day, my Nalla?”

Bella: *I was just finishing up brushing my teeth when Zsadist came up behind me. I turned my head to kiss him sweetly as we greeted each other.* It was … productive.

Mary spent some time talking today. *I waited to see if he would respond. He stayed quiet as waited for me to continue. I turned around in his arms so I could look up at him and fully gage his reactions.*

She feels that perhaps the nightmares stem from my insecurities. Everyone has been so busy lately so it’s just been Nalla and me mostly. So we’re by ourselves most nights while you’re out in the field. *I shrugged, I didn’t want to make him feel guilty about doing his job. The Brothers were out there protecting the race … savings lives. They saved mine not too long ago. So I fully understood the importance of what he did each not personally.

I had no idea how Zsadist would take what she suggested next. I never wanted him to feel that he wasn’t enough to protect me or Nalla. I took a deep breath and quickly told him what we discussed.*

She thought perhaps I need to train in self defense. Learn how to protect myself. 

Zsadist: Once she turned, I leaned in and began to kiss down Bella’s neck as she spoke. I loved the way her head would ever-so-slightly lean toward me when I did that. I don’t know if she was even aware of it, but it was just one of those endearing things. However, when she mentioned being home alone all the time, I pulled back. This was something I was working on. I had already gone to Wrath about it, I had cut back on my hours, I was here now, and I planned on being here most every night from here on out. Was this a guilt trip? I know I haven’t been around, I’ve made a point to correct that. Is she upset that it took her nightmares to make me realize. Well, maybe so, but she also could’ve mentioned them to me. She could have spoken up long before. She didn’t have to suffer through all the nights she did and not told me there was a problem.

I knew that my thoughts were flying off the handle, but I already felt guilty enough. It was bearing down on everything and wearing my patience thin. I took a deep breath as I waited for the other shoe to drop. I had no idea what it would be, but I was expecting some long, drawn out night of this to escalate into, “You just haven’t taken my feelings into consideration, lately.” or maybe, “What about your young? Doesn’t she matter to you, at all.” I certainly wasn’t expecting what did come out of her mouth.

Instinctively, images of another Brother’s arms wrapped around Bella, as she tried to get herself free of him, flashed across my mind and I began to see red, pacing the tiled, bathroom floor like a caged tiger. There was no way in fuck this was going to happen! Absolutely, fucking, not!

Then memories of my conversations with Mary creeped in. Talk about trusting in oneself. I had the utmost respect for that woman, and if this was what she was recommending… Shit! I stopped and scrubbed my face with my hands. If this was what Bella needed, I needed to stand behind her...but, the training she would be doing would be with Payne, or Xhex, or even with the other female trainees. She would not be training with any of the males. I loved most of my brothers, but they were not laying a finger on my shellan! “Nalla, if that is going to be what makes you feel comfortable, better, and stops these nightmares from happening, then I’m good with it. But, I will have conditions.”

Bella: *I looked up at him and watch his expression stay tight and all emotion gone unless you paid attention. His citron eyes giving him away. Imperceptible. Barely. If his eyes had been midnight black … you could only see darkness at the surface. You had to look deeply.

I could see curiosity, anger, guilt? He seemed relieved. Which was odd. Not an expression that I was expecting. Anger. Disappointment in me maybe. As I looked into his citron eyes all I could see was concern now.* Conditions? Wait, you’re not angry? Or offended?

*I was pleased that he knew that I never doubted his ability with protecting me. I knew he would lay his life for me. Mary and I spoke about my fears about his doubts. Zsadist and I have come a long way since we came into each other's lives. I thought back at those weeks I spent in this very manse after being rescued. I had felt so guilty that I could stop from being near him when I knew he didn’t want anything intimate with me. My need to feed … I could still feel my surprise with finding him scrubbing his wrists raw … cleansing himself of unseen contamination.

My memories were jarred from the past and back into the present, as Z’s voice penetrated through my woolgathering.*

Zsadist: Angry? Offended? More like anger and guilt… at the fact that as much as I wanted to be, I couldn’t be by hers or Nalla’s side 24/7. There would be times in their lives when it was going to be up someone else to put their lives in front of my Nallas. That thought gutted me to the core. It was my responsibility to keep them safe from any kind of harm, however, it was also my duty to keep the race safe. I couldn’t do both, 100% of the time. So, as much as it did anger me, and yeah, maybe it offended me in some small part, I understood why this subject had come up.

The other thing was, after all my years of treatment with Mary, I had to remind myself that none of this was about me. This was all about Bella and her sense of security, and as much as I would like to be the knight in shining armor in her dreams, she has to be that for herself. I wanted her to be that for herself. I wanted her to feel that no matter what, she had the ability to stand on her own two feet.

Reaching back out and pulling her close again, I looked into her eyes. “Nalla, as much as I want you to trust that I will always be there to put myself in harms way to keep you safe, I know that in all actuality, I can’t be there, with you 24/7.” I pulled back just a tad, “That kills me, by the way!” Offering up a soft smile, I continued, “Also, after all my time with Mary, I understand that this isn’t about me. It has nothing to do with me. This is all about you, you and your ability to trust in yourself. I know that in here...” I put one palm on her chest, right above her heart, “is a warrior’s heart, and if you doing a little bit of training is what you need to believe that truth, then I’m all for it.”

Bella: *I knew this would be hard for Z. I can also understand it may get harder for him. Especially after my first bruise … I remembered what it was like for the boys at the beginning with they were pre-trans and after. It made me happy though to see them now. I guess I needed to talk to Xhex and Payne about seeing if they could make some time for me in their schedule. Cause sure as Dhund … none of the Brothers would ever consider it.*

Are you sure? Are you ready to possible see bruises on me? *Dame watching those eyes go from citron to obsidian in a blink of an eye was something else.* Baby, you know it will happen when I start sparring. I have to engage to learn. *I said slowly as I watched the blackness slowly disappear into the yellow I love after a few moments of contemplation.* Just know that it just means that I’m growing stronger … hopefully. Unless you want to teach me? *I asked knowing that he would no doubt refuse. He would never be able to strike me. I could however see him instructing me with the punching bag or something.*

Zsadist: At the mention of bruises, every single muscle in my body went rigid and fire sparked in my soul. The very thought that my Nalla was going to be marred in any way, shape, or form made me think twice about my compliance in the whole idea. How was I going to lie next to my shellan every single night, seeing these wounds all over her body, and just be okay with it? How was I going to handle her flinching at my touch? A low rumble radiated from my gut at the thought. Then I saw the look in her eyes. She needed this so fucking much. How could I say, “No?”

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes to process everything that was running through my mind. I was going to have to make peace with this. Then she dropped the next bomb.

Me teach her?! Was she fucking mad?! I took a step back, held up my arms, and shook my head once. “Absolutely not! And don’t think of asking any of my Brothers. Training will be with Xhex, or better yet, Payne. You probably shouldn’t work with any of the female trainees. Most of them don’t know how to fight their way out of a wet paper bag yet, and you’d only get hurt.” I took a step back in and put my finger to Bella’s chin, “Can we agree on Xhex or Payne?”

Bella: *Smiles as I predicted his reaction correctly.* I was thinking of you teaching me techniques like a punching bag or something, Z. *Shakes my head knowing he would never be able to hit me in any form.*

But yes, I can agree with Xhex or Payne. I’m sure they both wouldn’t mind. *After a few moments of further contemplation his eyes finally returned to the beautiful citron. I knew it would be difficult for him to see me hurt in any way. I remembered once when he wouldn’t even let me dematerialize when I was pregnant before I was unable to. A bonded male always protects their mate regardless sometimes of the ridiculousness. I smile and give him a kiss.*

Try not to worry baby, ok? And let’s avoid watching any of my training sessions, shall we? *I suppressed an internal cringe at the thought of him watching me spar with Xhex or Payne. I highly doubt that he would ever strike a female but one was a symphath with her own set of hidden assets and the other was half deity also with her own special gifts.*

Zsadist: Leaning in, I returned her gentle kiss. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle all this. Saying I was okay with it and being okay with it was going to be two entirely different things. Right now, I could spit out the words. Living through it all was going to be next to impossible, though.

Throwing my head back, I let out a hefty groan. “Me, watch? Seriously? There was no way in Dhund I was going to step foot in that gym while anyone was putting their hands on my shellan. Someone might end up hurt. The only female I ever dreamed of doing harm to was my mistress. However, I couldn’t promise that my instincts wouldn’t take over were I to witness any harm coming to Bella. I think I might just see red and lose all sense. “Bella, no need to worry about that. I won’t even be stepping foot downstairs on nights you are training.”

Reaching an arm around Bella’s waist, I pick her up and carry her off to our bed. “Now, less talk … “ I suggest as I drop her on the bed and lean in to indulge in my female.

[seraphinebdb]

The Left-Hand Path: Dark Angels Creation (Part 42) CROSSOVER Phoenix Rising from the Ashes (Part Six)

Sin: Her voice in my mind is a siren’s call. Even knowing I cannot enter my future, I find myself walking towards her, our eyes locked and my very soul reaching for her. Finally, knowing I dare not go further on the path I stop. Though I make no sound, my voice is clear and I know she hears me.

“How would you know of the choice I once made to avenge all I lost to a jealous god? What do you know of the love I lost and sought to balance the scales for?” 

There is a connection here. One I felt when I first saw her in that dark alley. And one strong enough that she is in a future that I would never have dreamed possible for myself.  I had seen her soul, seen the impossible in it and yet, it must be possible because souls do not lie. My eyes narrow, and again, I ask…

“How do you know of this? Who are you to walk the corridors of time and find me here? Who are you /to/ me?” @Seraphine_BDB

Seraphine: <My dreams have never led me to anywhere special. Mostly odd scenarios that I never remember when I wake up the next morning. Here … it felt strange and familiar all at the same time. I had no idea why I said those words to him, Sin. Maybe some sort of manifestation of my thoughts lately. I nonchalantly shrug.>

It’s just how I see you. You seem reserved and detached from the world … like you’re bored and just want to sleep. 

<Really odd. We only met for that one brief moment and somehow I was able to pick up his character … at least how I saw it. I started turning back, thinking I should probably wake up soon.>

Sin: *My eyes narrow at this assessment. However astute it may be, it is not one our meeting on a mortal plane would have given her the insight for. No, this only affirms a deeper connection than seems possible. It can only come from … our souls. And that is not possible. Soul connections only happen once and mine was made long, long before this vampire with her soul’s single lifetime was ever born. Regardless of how long her angelic blood stretches that single lifetime, her soul could /not/ have been in existence when I was mortal.*

Thirty-five thousand years is enough to cause even the hardiest of souls to develop, *pausing before continuing smoothly,* a level of ennui. Eventually, one has seen everything, done everything. There is nothing left to test it or bring it joy. I have one last challenge to fulfill and if the Fates had written my rest at the end of it, then I would not quibble with them. However, from the futures presented to me this night, that does not seem to be the case. The question seems to be will it darken endlessly, or will it find joy. You appear in the future that holds joy. Why do you suppose that is?

Seraphine: <Did he just say thirty-five thousand years. FML. He’s … ancient. Though one could not tell that his chiseled good looks have aged over 25, but his choice of words and demeanor does suggest someone older. I just can’t believe thirty-five thousand years older. How is that even possible? Vampires only live for so long … and angels … well I have no idea how long. That was one of the many reasons why I was looking for an angel. I hadn’t had a chance to ask #Lassiter too many questions yet. Considering his association with the #Brotherhood it made sense that his time was sparse. Rumors are the Scribe Virgin is also gone. Not sure what that means for the race or what’s going to happen. I shrug as I continue to walk away, trying to wake myself up from this odd dream.>

Be that as it may … when someone has nothing to live for … then tend to either find a way to sleep or make things more … interesting in dangerous ways. As to the Fates? You mean the ancient greek mythology about the three chicks who make your life good or crap and where one of them can even kill you? Surely that is a myth. We design our own destinies, don’t we with the decisions we make each day in and out?

<I wonder if there was such a thing as the Fates? Granted I was born in this millennia where technology and social media ruled and celebrities were worshiped instead of the Scribe Virgin. Was there ever a Scribe Virgin? Yes. My family always believed in her and asked for her guidance … though it often went unanswered. But wasn’t that the idea of “Gods” even with the humans. They believed in many different Gods and none ever answered directly. So were the Greek Gods any different? Did they exist as well?>

Me? Joy? Doubtful. My future doesn’t hold joy. Only unanswered questions and continuous running.

Sin: *A surprised laugh escapes me.* 

You don’t believe in the Fates? I assure you, they believe in YOU. *Striving to stop her from leaving me before I can understand how and why she is here, I put forth an argument.* 

The human myth of them is somewhat … garbled. As is so much of their understanding of things greater than themselves. I would not expect you to subscribe to such nonsense. The Fates do not ‘assign’ destinies. They merely put choices before us. We select one, which leads to more choices. The Creator subscribes to a ‘free will’ philosophy. Our destinies are determined by our choices. The two destinies I have been presented with here are the results of many millennia of my choices. And, *musing almost to myself* you appear to be part of one of them. The only one that holds great joy. For both of us. *Nodding towards the vision before us. The fact that her image is still there, standing beside my own and laughing while her soul has stepped from it to walk up the path towards me, tells me that perhaps she too has a choice to make. Perhaps the Fates want both of us to see what may be.* 

Tell me, battle angel, do you make a habit of walking between the worlds, seeking the corridors of future knowledge? For how else are you here with me? I cast the spell for myself alone, to seek guidance, and yet, here you are. Perhaps the Fates wish us both to see what may come to pass. Look there,*gesturing to future that shows us together,* does that show you a future with no joy? It does not show that to me. But I can show you one that does. *I hold my hand out to her.* Come with me and I will show you what lies down the right-hand path. Come and see the other destiny that is laid before me. Perhaps you may understand more about the choice that is laid before you.

Seraphine: <Damn, this dream is getting weirder and weirder. Looks like my conscious doesn’t want me to wake up yet, so I might as well enjoy it. I’ll forget most of it when I wake up anyway, like always.> 

I’m sure the Fates have better things to do than pay attention to me. Or clearly they like having me play mouse on this crap cat and mouse game I’m in. 

As for walking between the worlds, I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re just a dream. As to the Hogwarts spell, I’m sure it's  just my self conscious telling myself to stop falling asleep with the Harry Potter movie marathon on the tv.

<Seriously, that was probably what happened. Then again, if vampires and lycan exist … makes only sense witches and warlocks do too, right? But I know, /I/ didn’t cast a spell. This is just a really strange dream due to all the recent changes in my life. Finally finding #Lassiter, finally feeding and coming to find out that I have a few small powers of my own. Looking at his offered hand, I remember its just a dream … might as well see where this goes.> Sure.

<I take his hand and walk to another blurry dreamlike scene on the right of us on this path we found ourselves walking on.>

Sin: *As she takes my hand a frisson of electricity courses through me. Even here, when we are simply soul to soul, there is that connection. The Fates have stepped back from the fork in the path, watching us from afar. Clotho catches my eye and nods approvingly. I can hear her in my mind.*

‘Show her. For if you follow the right-hand path there is no joy for anyone, not you, not her, not in any of the worlds on any of the planes. You will become a benign despot, not for glory or power, for there will be no power greater than yours when all is done regardless of the path, but because control will ease the pain of the losses you will incur from the choice that leads you down the right-hand path. Losses that need not happen. This female is part of the left-hand path. She needs to make a choice as well. A choice to trust you when she trusts no one. A choice to hope. A choice to allow herself love when for so long she has only allowed herself existence. For if you have that hope, that clarity of her soul when your turn comes, the choice that leads to joy will become clear.’

*As so often is the case, Clotho’s words are mystic, yet one thing rings clear. This female must see the consequences of a future without joy.*

Look there. See me on a dark throne of flame. Most of those I hold dear are absent and the ones present are in chains. Blood drips from my sword and even though there are many around me, they are little better than slaves, cowering before what I have become. Balance that against the other. There is no joy here. There are no friends, no family, no love. There is no /you/ here. There is only death and darkness. That is the result of choosing not to trust, not to hope. It is the result of choosing not to love. And it would seem, my future… the future of all the worlds... will hang as much on your choice as on my own.

Seraphine: <Sin seemed to be listening to something or someone … maybe someone I couldn’t see. Dearest Scribe, this dream is really getting weird. So weird, that I felt electricity run through my arm as I placed my hand in his. It was nothing I have ever felt before. It felt … right. I need to hurry and wake up before this dream creates ideas on finding ways to touch the male if I ever see him in reality again.

Then as I see Sin on the other side of the image … it /is/ a dream! NFW there were two of these sexy males. The image was of him in all his warrior glory, sword dripping in blood surrounded by the slaves he described at his feet. It was disconcerting but powerful in a sense. But my choice? I was no one. Why would my choice be a factor? I said as much to him as we continued to walk down this dreamlike path past this first image of him in a war zone.>

Sin: You are part of my left-hand path, but not the right. Our souls call to one another. Else, why would you be here? There is a choice you must make, a choice that influences the choice I make and in doing so influences the future of all the worlds. *Pausing as I consider how to explain it, then deciding upon a simple mortal metaphor that I have heard used before.* 

Have you never heard of the ‘butterfly effect’? The idea that the air stirred by the wings of a butterfly can in the end result in a hurricane thousands of miles away?  Our choices are like that. No one is an island. The actions we take, the attitudes we display, affect others we have never met. If I become this…*gesturing to the tableau before us* I will condemn to an existence of servitude and fear not only all those that I have ever had contact with, but all those who exist everywhere. I will become closed to the emotions that keep me in sync with mortals, lose what humanity of soul that I have left, and in doing so become as a cold, uncaring god who cares not where he steps. I can only surmise that it is /your/ soul that somehow prevents this. If you choose to shut yourself off from love, from family, this is the future for all of us. You are not part of this future. I do not know if it is because your life ends or because you shut me out. I only know that if you do there is no happiness for anyone.  But if you open yourself to the possibilities, if you allow this thing between us, whatever it is, to come to grow, then there is hope for the left-hand path. There is hope for all of us.

 I will come to you, and you must choose.

Seraphine: This is insane. I’m no one. I can barely survive my choices … let alone effect others. I’m trying to living day by day here and not really thinking too far into the future.

I have a mad vampire and his goons chasing me around the globe for my blood in order to make me his own blood slave so he can walk out into the sun and take over the human world like he has over our race. Dealing with the vampire version of the mafia … I can’t get involved in whatever monarchy, autocracy or dictatorship you got going on here. I don’t need more crap on my ever growing plate of WTF. 

And choose what? Between running for the rest of my life or becoming a mindless slave? What the hell are you talking about?

This is just a dream anyways. You’re not really here, fuck, I’m not really here.

<I /really/ need to wake up now. This dream is getting really weird. I start whispering to myself.> 

Wake up now, wake up now, wake the fuck up.

Sin: *I turn to face you, dropping your hand, my face growing hard and dark, my voice stern.* 

This is no dream. Whoever pursues you in the mortal world is of no importance. They are no match for me, their resources puny, their powers anemic compared to mine and I will deal with them. *In this moment I choose to reveal what I am to her, to show her all of me. And to accept the impossible that I have seen in her soul.* 

I am a reaper, Death’s First, the most powerful reaper to ever exist and these future paths indicate that regardless of the choice I make, I will become much, much more. You have only to show me your pursuer’s face and his death is written, for I protect what is mine.  I know not your name in this mortal life, but I have seen your soul and viewed the impossible. I was not always a reaper. Once I was mortal and I knew you. You were mine then and you will be mine again. 

*Raising my hand to your face, I cup your jaw and hold it firmly, not a lover’s caress, but a king’s command. Fixing my dark eyes on your blue ones, I command.* I have seen your soul. Now see mine. You are as much angel as you are vampire. You have the power within you and I call it forth. See my soul and remember.

Seraphine: <I could feel my face warming under this touch as my heart beat faster and faster. His focus was so directed at me that I did not understand when my eyes began to unfocus and started seeing different colors and seeing a fuzzy scene with him and another woman in some sort of negotiation. It felt like deja vu … I began to panic and shake my head of the unwanted vision, pulling away from his hold and I pinch my arm to try and wake myself up from this crazy dream.

The visions came quickly as the scene changed … all of sudden I found myself standing in front of Sin wearing a mask? Oh wait, it's a Princess Jasmin veil with delicate chains and jewels. Odd. I was standing behind some male, but I could still see him clearly over the guy’s shoulder and as we locked eyes, I felt something deep inside.

The next scene was with that male, which apparently was my father, or hers - this was getting confusing. He is handing her a dagger and shows her/me a map of the city and how to get past the guards and into Sin’s rooms. I had feelings of hate and annoyance about this male. Apparently I am supposed to kill him to collect the bounty on his head and for my father to take over his kingdom.

The scene changed again and I found myself outside our tents, without the dagger, and searching for Sin. My feelings were conflicting … obeying my overbearing father and saving a man that made me feel like a female with just one look. I knew I couldn’t kill him. I found him in his bed and felt an urgent need to wake him. But before I could tell him my warning, I felt his strong hold around my neck startling me.

Quickly I could hear myself telling him that the male, my father, had planned to infiltrate the city and take his head for a bounty. Inside I could feel the stress of warning him but I knew I hated my father and only another reason to defy his order but I also felt the need to save this male who I barely knew. But in the back of my mind I knew I had to hurry and run and find a new life away from my father and live my own life before I was punished for my transgression.

Then Sin asked me to stay and talk with him. Why? I assumed he would want to immediately take action against the incoming attack and be rid of me, if not try to kill me as well for being his daughter. I was even more apprehensive when he called for food and drink. The vision continued of us on a balcony having dinner as if the world was going into chaos in the next few hours. Strange and yet it felt familiar and good. I felt comfortable taking off my veil and turned to him to tell him thank you for sparing my life but before I could the night quickly progressed into him taking me to bed. 

The images warmed me from the inside and out and I could feel myself getting wet and my muscles loosen as the moments flashed before me. In the next moment we were being mated. How strange that I would mate a male I barely knew. Wait not me, this female whose visions I was experiencing. 

Instantly I sit up in my bed and start feeling around me and touching my familiar comforter as I try to catch my breath. I’m hyperventilating as if I just ran 5 miles. Sweat drips down my neck and forehead and I uncover myself from the comforter and sheets to cool myself.>

What the fuck was that about? 

<I asked myself absently. Maybe meeting this Sin has created some sort of warning to my self-consciousness. I quickly realize that something has changed and I need to escape again. I know I just found Lassiter and even though I still want answers … I also needed to run again. Sin must be related to #Cyrehn. Perhaps he’s part of #Cyrehn’s world and I had seen him in one of the visions. That would explain the deja vu I felt. That had to be it. I quickly get up and start packing my bags and making arrangements to leave #Caldwell.>

Sin: NOOOOOO!  *It comes out a despairing roar as she dissolves beneath my hands. I had looked in her eyes, seen her memories revive. She saw us. I know she saw us. And she rejected what she had seen. Hot tears burn behind my eyes as a pain I have only known once before spears through me and I drop to my knees and shout angrily to the Creator.*

WHY? Why did you bring her back to me, only to let her leave me again? Why did you show me what I could be, could have… what WE could have, only to tear it from me? *Slumping back on my heels, head dropping, and asking again in a quiet, broken voice.* Why?

*I feel their presence as the Fates appear and kneel with me.* 

“Sin.”

*Clothos voice is before me and I lift my head to look bleakly into her compassionate dark eyes.* Why? 

*She stands, raising me to my feet with her. Lachesis and Atropos, at either side, rise with me. Lachesis places a hand on my shoulder and says kindly.*

“Because you had to know what could be. There is a price for the future. Are you willing to pay it?”

*Anger replaces the pain radiating from my eyes.* I would pay /any/ price to have her with me again. Any. She is more than my soulmate. She is my twin flame, the literal other half of my soul. Without her I am only half a man, and I have been half a man for far too long. The oblivion of the long sleep would be a kindness. How could you ask me that? You have watched me for 35,000 years. The three of you,  of all beings, understand the choice I made to become Death’s First, the despair and vengeance that drove me to bargain with Death for the chance to avenge her. How ... *Shifting my gaze between them.* Could /any/ of you ask me that? 

*Atropos, eyes me shrewdly.* 

“Would you choose vulnerability over power? You, the consummate general who unified rabble tribes into a nation, the king who conquered his world by force and diplomacy, by sword and guile, the human who chose vengeance over rebirth, who bargained with Death himself and then rebelled against him, you who would overthrow him and take his place … would you humble yourself? Would you choose to live for her rather than kill for her? Would you give up the ultimate power, the chance to order the worlds to your liking,  for her? Because that will be your choice, Sin.”

*Before I can answer, Clothos raises her hand to silence her sisters and begins sternly.* 

“Enough. You cannot say more. He has more than one choice to make and he must be able to discern the path each will lead him down. Sin.” 

*She raises her impassive gaze towards me as she continues.*

“What you were shown are the ends of the spectrum. They are not the only outcomes, just the most probable ones. There is a great deal in between, depending on your next actions, but, I will be honest with you, none lead you to joy but the left hand path. The only sureties are you will survive this conflict, whether you wish to or not, and that you will be irrevocably changed by it. You could gain everything you have ever desired or you could lose all that you have come to value.”

*Her eyes soften as she continues.*

“Your Ishtar … your Eve was not prepared to see the memories you invoked. When she died, her soul was not ready for ascension and it refused rebirth. She stayed in Elysia, simultaneously afraid for you and angry with you, for thousands of years. It was a sad and lonely existence, regardless of how kind the Keepers of Elyssia were to her. She watched what you became and feared you. And when the massacre of the Ancients finally broke through the hard, callous shell you had allowed to grow around you, she both wept and rejoiced that the man she had known still lived. There, she thought, was hope for you and so she agreed to move her soul on. The Creator, with his daughter’s help, devised a plan and enlisted us. We put the choices before the angel that sired her and the vampire that bore her, but I will admit, the choices we gave them kept circling them back to the Creator’s desired outcome -- that they would meet, love, and make a child. That child was to be the vessel for your Eve’s soul. Her existence in her current incarnation has been filled with betrayal and fear, a legacy from the sense of betrayal she felt by your refusal to join her in death and rebirth, and from her fear that you had become someone she could not love again. She must overcome these issues. She must choose to trust. Choose to love. She has her own journey to make if she is to find you.”

But why? *My eyebrow raises skeptically* Why would the Creator do this? Did I not take myself out of His concern when I chose Death? What is there for Him to gain by this effort? Why would he work with the Scribe Virgin to create a new life for my wife? To give me a second chance with her?

“I cannot tell you that. But know it is rare that the Creator is so adamant about an outcome and that should tell you of its importance, not just to yourself, but to all the worlds. I can only tell you that you must make your own decisions, your own choices and have faith that she will make the right ones as well.” Clothos reaches to rest her hand on my jaw and smiles sadly.* “And now it is time for you to return. You have been gone too long and your people need you. Return home now Sin. And do not attempt to see the possible futures again. For the time being, the Aetheric Plane is closed to you. Now go.”

*She steps back from me and the paths begin to fade from my sight. The grey mist swirls around me as my soul finds the bit of it I had left behind anchored to Declan and the body I had left seated before the brazier inhales sharply as I return fully. My eyes open expecting to see him keeping guard only to see the tall, stalwart figure of a Goddess of War keeping watch over me.*

Freya. 

#TBC

[ilan]

be nice

i really like virgos and i don’t mind scorpios so those are good but i think cancers are a plague upon the earth. we have a lot of signs in common actually but that’s not really a good thing. this is a solid 7/10 though you have too much cancer but you’re fine where it counts.

chart ratings

[ratsonas]

normal/bug :)

hell yeah :D

[erextmoved]

when i see ur url i feel very happy and safe and i also know the posts i am gonna see are good

omg.. thats so nice thank u... im glad u think that of me ;_;

[meats-moved]

3.. you seem really nice ^-^

tysm! im glad

[saintsnsinnersbdb]

Deal with the Devil: The End of the Beginning (Part 6)

Written by @Lassiter_SASBDB.

https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1srinhn

It was a normal, blue-collar suburban neighborhood, filled with 1950’s ranch homes and split-levels. Mature trees lined streets that were probably filled with kids on bikes and dog-walkers during warm weather months, although now they were barren except for a couple of people shoveling snow off the sidewalks and a few toddlers playing in the white stuff with a stay-at-home parent in their respective yards. Shortly the Catholic K-12 down the street would let out and younger kids would trudge their way home while teens tentatively navigated the slick streets in 200,000+ mile Subaru’s and Nissans that had been purchased not by their parents but by working summer and after-school jobs and saving their money to do it themselves. Yeah, this was that kind of human neighborhood. So why was Devina here?

Short answer is hiding out. After I’d rousted her from that obnoxious ode to regentrification in yuppieville she’d gone deep. So deep I’d thought for a while she’d left Caldwell. But I knew I couldn’t be that lucky, so I’d kept looking. The easiest way to find her was to focus on missing persons. Not the bodies, although there would be plenty of those, but she was smart and careful. She wasn’t going to leave any of those where I might put together a pattern. But I’d been looking for the wrong /kind/ of missing persons.

Devina’s preferred prey was male and not too sober. A horny, drunk man was a sitting duck. She’d take females, too. Had all too often, but her bait for them tended to be emotional support or some such shit. She “bonded” with them when they were at low points. So I’d been looking for singles. People who had gone missing from bars or been depressed and just ghosted. I’d been over hundreds of missing persons reports…yeah, computer hacking isn’t my bag, but when you can go invisible and look over a cop’s shoulder for an afternoon it’s a piece of cake to get the right passwords. Then it’s just a little late night B&E into the police station and an empty office. But I’d looked for months and hadn’t found anything I couldn’t track down. And yes, some of them had been dead, but a few inquiries “up top” had let me know the souls had made it where they were supposed to. Obviously not Devina’s victims, as taking the souls was the whole point for the bitch. So I’d finally backed off that angle, taking a wait-until it-smacks-me-in-the-face approach.

For a while I’d turned my attention to the problems of the Brotherhood and the race. That whole deity-in-training thing was turning out to be a full time job. I kind of liked it. Who knew I had it in me? But while “tending my flock” I’d stumbled across something that sent me in a new direction.

Now,I’m not big into the whole “organized religion” thing, even for the race, but I tried to keep tapped into this one particular Catholic church. Most of the brothers aren’t big on prayers to the Virgin Scribe unless shit is going down hard, but Butch was a regular, so long as he could do it in a Catholic church like his human mother had taught him and this was his one of choice. I wasn’t 100% sure prayers not directed to the VS would get to me through the whole ethereal call-forwarding system the Creator had put in effect, so sometimes I went to hear Butch’s in person. I know, I know, I could have just tapped into his head when he was in the manse or the pit, but it seemed like an invasion of privacy to do it in his personal space. A church was basically public, so it felt more acceptable to go invisible and sit in the pew behind him while I listened in. I didn’t wanna neglect him. And it was a beautiful place. The serenity there was on par with my place in the forest so sometimes during the day, after my morning deity duty, I’d go back to the church and hang around and kinda veg in it while the Brotherhood slept. Or whatever. With all the shellans these days you never knew. Or, given the volume level, sometimes you did, but you didn’t /wanna/ know, feel me? So some days I decided to be missing during the fireworks and this place was calming. Ellen and Maury only relieve the stress of being a deity so much, you know? And if I followed the priests back to the rectory, well, hey, the nun who cooked for them made killer snickerdoodles. I kept trying to snitch the recipe for #Fritz but she did it all from her head and man, I am SO not going to pick a nun’s brain.*shudders at the implications* It was while I was looking over her shoulder as she baked that I overheard the three priests that lived there talking.

They’d lost a family from their parish that week. I mean literally LOST them. Dad, mom, and four kids, ages 4 through 9. Just vanished. The kids all went to the parish school and when none of them showed up four days running and the voicemails to the parents weren’t being returned one of the priests had gone to check on them. All he had found was an empty house. He’d called the police and filed a missing persons report to start a preliminary investigation but essentially both mom and dad had called into work one morning and said they were taking a week off, and since it’s not illegal to take vacation time, the cops had done nothing. But it was odd that the school hadn’t been contacted at all. So I did a little digging of my own and what do you know...a pattern.

Six families from different parishes in Caldwell had disappeared in the last four months. Thirty-seven souls in all. All the families had been Catholic. All the families had young children, one just a few months old. And the mother in all the families had attended a stay-at-home mom support group that met every Thursday night in the gymnasium of St. Phillip Neri’s Church and Catholic School. The same one that was just down the street. And the group was open to people from all parishes in the archdiocese, which explained why the missing families were from all over the city.

It hadn’t been hard from there. I’d stationed myself outside the gym two Thursday nights ago and waited and lo and behold, who should walk out, but Devina, bundled up in a puffy white coat that made her look like the Pillsbury Doughboy and fake giggling with a human female. It was “soooo tough to relax when the kids couldn’t get out much because of the cold” she said and then she said her condo on the beach in Florida was “sooooo relaxing” and such a help. And then she offered her nonexistent condo to the frustrated mom and her family for a stress-free vacay. And bingo, bango, done, I knew how she was luring the families in.

She’d left the woman in the parking lot as others came out, getting into a predictably boring, yet originally expensive, used Volvo, thereby confirming her image as a middle-class mom who could afford a few luxuries and putt-putted to the last house on a street that dead-ended at a dense woods with a “no trespassing” sign on the the fence that separated it from neighborhood. That gave me a good idea what she was doing with the bodies.

I’d done my recon in the past two weeks. While she hadn’t brought any new victims home, she did have a routine she invariably followed. In the mornings she made a public appearance with a pair of toddler-sized gollums she glamoured into looking like rosy-faced children. Playing in the front yard, a walk with a stroller in the park, going to the grocery store… it was always carefully planned to give her maximum exposure to her victim group without allowing them to get too involved in interacting with the “kids”. Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon she put the golems in carseats and left the house at 1:58 PM. I’d followed her those days and found Devina had a standing 2:30 appointment with a therapist. Good to know somebody else knew what a neurotic bitch she was. She’d deactivated the gollums and left them in the car in a parking garage while she had her appointment, magicking the rear window tint to opacity so no one noticed them there. Afterwards she indulged her inner compulsive shopper for an hour or two and then headed back home.

And now, on /this/ Thursday I was standing across the street from her modest hideout waiting for her to leave. Like clockwork, at 1:58 the garage door rose and the Volvo backed out of the driveway. I had stayed invisible while I waited for her to leave -- even though I’d taken the precaution of tucking my long black and blonde streaked hair down inside my coat with a black watch cap shoved over my head and added shades and a black scarf to obstruct most of my face, I’d decided discretion was the better part of valor here. While it was obviously a friendly neighborhood, 6’7” of unknown muscle encased in black leather standing on a dead end street would make anyone take notice and I did/not/want to be noticed. And I was glad I had. Devina must have sensed something off. She stopped the car after she’d backed onto the street and looked up and down it. She’d paused as her gaze fell on where I was standing and squinted. I simply stood there watching. If she saw me and we did this the hard way, it was no skin off my nose. I’d just thought it would be simpler if I searched for the souls and released them myself before deciding what to do about her this time. Finally, she’d given up and driven down the street to turn onto the main drag. As the last wisp of frozen exhaust from her car disappeared, I turned my attention to her house.

It was a tidy little brick ranch. No gargoyles or garishly macabre door knockers this time. The front lawn was fenced but otherwise unadorned. The curtains were drawn on the large picture window as well as the jalousies that were probably the bedrooms’ windows to the world. Down lower, hopper windows told me there was a basement. All in all, even if the basement is finished, there’s probably only 1400 square feet absolute max. A huge comedown for her. Devina liked luxury and lots of it. This probably was very nearly Hell for her. *smirking as I fold my arms across my chest.*

Getting inside wasn’t a problem. Although Devina knew how to keep me out she was just arrogant enough to assume this was enough of a change to keep me from finding her and maintaining warding requires power that she doesn’t have an abundance of right now. Thirty-seven souls weren’t going to be enough to keep it powered up and maintain the glamour that kept people from seeing the evil hellbitch she really was. But she could have put in ADT and that was going to take some finesse. I didn’t want her coming back before I was ready for her. As I dematerialized just inside the front door I took a moment and looked around. To the left, just behind where the door would hide it if I’d opened it was a control box with a steady green light. It was either set to trigger when the door opened or had motion sensors connected to it. Either way was no big deal. While it might have caught an unwary human, all I had to do was demat from room to room and stand still while I scoped them out.

As I stood in the doorway looked through the small living room it was apparent that Devina was maintaining her cover well. There was nothing here to indicate she wasn’t what she seemed. A photo of her in a wedding dress with a man in a tux graced the foyer wall surrounded by pictures of the “kids”. On the table beneath it lay a scrapbook, conveniently open to an obituary for National Guard Captain Alan Veckman, KIA in Afghanistan. A wife and two kids were listed as the only survivors. That explained why she hadn’t gollumed up a spouse for her image. She’d just tracked this guy down, photoshopped herself into their wedding picture, and probably taken the wife and kids as her first victims this time around. Instant sympathetic widow.

The house had had some modernization done on the inside. Instead of closed off main rooms the dining room walls had been knocked down to open it up to both living room and kitchen, forming the more-currently-popular “great room''. From here I could see all the public spaces were clean. No macabre art work on the walls, no horrific but trendy sculpture. Just a few framed prints on the walls and the typical kid’s finger paintings on the fridge. I popped into the kids bedroom and the hall bath, doing a quick check, but finding nothing then moved on to the master. It had been remodeled too, probably taking out the third bedroom to enlarge it and add the spa-like ensuite. This space, small by Devina’s norms, still felt more like her. Where the great room had been “Leave It To Beaver” tidy, this place was an overpacked disaster. Her shopping addiction was apparent in the overstuffed closet and bags of clothing laying on the floor. Jewelry strung haphazardly across the dresser and the unmade bed completed the total mess. The bathroom had every known brand of cosmetic, perfume and skin treatment known to man represented, and that was just a waste of money, given she relied on magick to maintain her outwardly pretty face and body. Lots of scented bath crap around the tub, too. Keeping the stench of evil down must require some heavy maintenance. But still nothing that hinted at her new well of souls.

Only one place left to check. The basement. I’d spied the door to it in the kitchen. If any door was going to be wired to alert her, it would be that one, but if it was her gateway to hell, ADT wasn’t going to be her alert system. Dematting to the kitchen, I look at the door and open my senses. There was nothing alive in that basement but there sure was a lot of pain coming from it. I dematerialize to the otherside of the door and flick on the stairwell light. The smell hits me immediately. The odor of death is distinctive. The odor of death by torture even more so. Blood, feces, spilled intestines, vomit….and the residual agony...I had to stop on the steps and take a deep breath to steel myself. I’ve seen a lot, done a lot, been on battlefields. But I never get used to this.

Jaw set grimly, I focus on the details of my surroundings to get me down the stairs. The walls are painted yellow concrete blocks, the ceiling exposed floor joists. The floor at the bottom of the stairs is smooth concrete. My eyes follow the slope of the concrete to the center drain, beginning to take in the blood and viscera still laying on the floor. She must have magicked the whole damned place to keep the smell down here. Nausea rises in my throat, but I force it down as my gaze rises to the table over the center drain. It’s a steel autopsy table, the kind sits on a pedestal and raises and lowers for the user's convenience. It has a sink attached to it and channels that run down the sides to let blood and body fluids drain away . But unlike standard autopsy tables this one also has straps attached. Ones for wrists, ankles and forehead as well as thicker ones that run over the chest and thighs. I guess Devina wanted options. Staked to the wall behind it is the mutilated body of a female. Early 30’s, blonde, fair skinned where the corpse wasn’t ripped open or stained with red. Before moving towards it, I flip another switch that lights the corners of the basement. I take in the empty cell in the corner. Makes sense. If she’s taking families she can’t work on them all at once and holding them immobile takes power she doesn’t have. And on the concrete wall that runs behind the staircase I see it. Instead of a well she’s created a wall this time. Faces frozen in agony are embedded along it. Male, female...children…

”Creator,” it’s a scream in my head “she did this to CHILDREN!” I can feel His pain, but the whisper enters my head “She has a part to play. She must live.”

I choke back an agonized cry and move towards the woman staked to the wall. Gently I close her already clouded eyes, murmuring “I’m sorry. I was too late for you and your family. But I’ll set you free.” I know she’s not in there anymore. She’s on that god damned wall. The body is just the alarm system. Devina will know if it’s moved. Well, I’ll get to that.

Moving to the wall, I let my wings become visible. The basement ceiling is too low for me to spread them fully, but I can feel the souls’ pain and terror. Going full angel will help calm them, I hope. The white light I normally suppress to a dim glow that can be at least partially explained by the light catching all my piercings is fully released to become a white light so brilliant it would burn the retina’s of a mortal.

“𒂼𒅈𒄄.” Release, in ancient Summarian, the language taught to humans by the angels. “Ama-ar-gi. Release,” I repeat it again and again as the souls gradually disengage from the wall and come to stand before me. Fathers, mothers...little ones, all confused and fearful. But even as they shimmer into existence, the rheapers come. I knew they would. As I serve the Creator, they serve Death. I help mortal souls find their way in life. They help souls move on and find their way once their mortal bodies can no longer serve them. And, like me, they’ve seen it all, but also like me, this sickens them. After the initial shock of pity passes, compassion settles on their faces as they begin to take the souls. Somehow they know which souls belong together and they take them as families.

After the last has gone, one rheaper remains. She’s small and dark-haired, her 5’3” frame barely reaching chest high on me, but she comes towards me, pounding her finger into my chest and hissing,

“They weren’t supposed to die yet! Take. Care. Of. This. Or we will.”

“I can’t. The Creator says she has to live. For at least a little longer.”

“Good thing we don’t answer to Him, then isn’t it? My boss doesn’t like waste of the life spark and this is incredible waste,” she shoots back at me. As I look at her, not a little shocked, she shrugs “What, you didn’t know? Everything dies. Even at the Creator’s level, there’s balance. Balance for Life is Death. Two sides of the same coin. So,” putting her hands on her hips and squaring off with me,” handle this before we do.”

“The demon has a part to play. I don’t like it, but I’m forbidden to kill her.” My frustration must be showing in my face, because she softens a little bit.

“Then get creative with it. Because the rheaper way won’t be creative. Just final.”

She disappears in front of me, a fine black mist swirling into nothing. ‘Get creative,’ she’d said. Biting my lip, an idea I really don’t like hits me, but one of the Creator’s early lessons pushes back on my initial rejection. ‘Being a deity often consists of doing things you don’t like.’ Yeah, this qualifies. With a sigh, I go to the body staked on the other wall and gently remove it, laying it on the autopsy table. The sudden drop in power when the souls were freed would have been enough to alert Davina there was trouble. At this point moving the female’s body was just respect for the dead. But I wouldn’t face the bitch over it.

As I go back up the stairs, I open the door to the kitchen and cross to take a seat at the table just as I hear the garage door go up. As she bursts through the door from the garage, she shrieks,

“YOU! What have you DONE?!!!!”

“Hello to you, too. Long time no see.” Everything in me wants to slam a lightning bolt through that glamored body just to see it twitch, but that’s not the plan. “You knew I’d still be looking for you. Did you really think hiding out in this hovel would be enough camouflage? You have a very distinct signature.”

“Those souls were MINE! They came to me freely. You had no RIGHT!” The last comes out as an angry wail and ok, I’m done with diplomacy. Rising from my chair I slam my hand thunderously on the table.

“I have EVERY right. You broke the rules. You took innocents…children. Babes in arms. You’re only allowed ones that have the ability to make their own choices.”

She glares at me, then crosses her arms and simpers, “The parents made their choices for them. Children have such power, You know, the more innocent the soul, the greater the energy. I’m short on that, thanks to you, so kids were a quick way to restore it. And the pain of the parents as they watched their brats die...it was sooo delicious. That kind of pain is almost as powerful as the kids' souls. So I’m stronger now than I was the last time we faced off. Whatcha’ going to do about it?”

Motherfucking bitch….Oh, so not getting away with that. Holding a hand out, I release a bolt of electricity that knocks her back against the refrigerator and spears through her body to pin her to it.

“What am I going to do about it?” I repeat. “I can do a lot of /very/ painful things to you Devina that won’t result in your --immediate-- death. You’ll just wish it did. I’m not that naive angel boy you once knew and betrayed. Deity-level upgrades come with deity-level thinking. And you aren’t strong enough to break free even from that,” nodding at the electric bindings holding her to the fridge, “Now are you? So I have a lot of pain in store for you. Maybe I”ll use your own autopsy table. But,” materializing a silver handled angel’s dagger, the blade flashing blue fire, “I think I’ll bring my own tools.”

The thing is, while I really would like to end Devina, torture isn’t my thing. It makes me wanna throw up. But ‘get creative’ the rheaper had said, so creative I was being. Devina doesn’t know what the kind of changes the Creator made with me when he agreed to bring me up to a deity, might have done to my psyche. In her fallen, psychotic brain the Creator is a cold, distant daddy figure capable of enjoying causing His children pain and she’s getting back at Him by embracing the dark side. So I can see the doubt growing in those dark eyes. She’s asking herself if I’m still the same egocentric, soft, gullible angel-boy toy she used and killed centuries ago or am I growing up in Daddy’s image? Have I turned into a being that is detached enough to use pain for my own ends? Thing is, I hope I am becoming more like the Creator. Because He’s nothing like what she thinks He is and nothing like who I used to be either. He’s just….more. But the doubt is good for my plan.

The energy trapping her against the refrigerator is doing its job. Not only is it keeping her immobilized, it’s sapping her strength enough that her true appearance is flickering through. Time to move to the next step. Calmly, I take the tip of my dagger and clean a nail with it before pointing it at her.

“You’re losing your mojo babe. Your face is showing. I don’t think all those creams and cosmetics are helpful for decayed, oozing skin.”

“OH!....Lassiter, please, don’t do this to me. To us. Remember what we were…”

Oh, I remember all right. In my nightmares. But this tact plays. I heave a sigh and look at her sadly, as though remembering something bittersweet.

“We did have some good times didn’t we. You were something special back then. We had something special.” Oh gag me, this is more likely to make me puke than torturing her. But she seizes on it.

“We did, yes, we did. Let me go, Lassiter and we can again. I never stopped loving you, I just got caught up in it all. It’s so dog-eat-dog on the dark side!”

Christ, how do I not kill her when she spews shit like this? But be creative. Creative. Think of it as an acting job. Ok… Sadly, I shake my head.

“Too much water has passed under that bridge for me to cross it again Devina. But…” pausing for effect, “for old times sake, maybe we could come to an agreement. Something that lets me not have to kill you.” Right now. Not have to kill you right now…. She makes a major effort to hold the glamour and pours a combination of pleading sensuality into her eyes that should have won her an Oscar.

“Oh, baby,” I cringe inwardly as she calls me ‘baby’, “I’m so sorry. But,” And there it is, the self-interest speaking…. “What kind of agreement did you have in mind?”

Bingo. Gotcha hooked. “If I let you go, you have to promise not to go after innocents. You have to leave them alone. And that includes their parents. And,people who are kind of lost, too. You can’t use that emo bonding thing with them to lure them in anymore.”

“But, but…,” she makes a pout, “what does that leave me with? I have to have /some/ leeway or I’ll die.”

And this is the part that irks me most. It goes against everything in me. But she’ll fuck it up, probably sooner that later and I won’t have to keep my end.

“Go back to trolling for your prey in bars. If they choose you, really choose you, you can keep them. You’ll have to work harder for it. A quick fuck in the backseat of the car isn’t going to be enough to get their souls. But if you can get them obsessed with you? You can keep them.”

“It will take me forever to restore myself that way!” It comes out as a wail but she’s almost there.

“It will take time,” I agree. “But meanwhile you won’t be stuck in suburbia living in a 1400 sq ft. dump. You can indulge yourself in the highlife again and I won’t hunt you. Think of it. A luxury loft, being able to wear Prada and Coach without blowing your image…think of the time it takes you to build back up as doing penance in the demonic equivalent of Club Fed. Payment for the innocents you took. All the perks, just a few restrictions. It’s the best I can offer you.”

“Fine,” she spits out, and I have to struggle to keep the uniquely male satisfaction of knowing that whenever a female says ‘fine’ it’s absolutely not fine but that she has no other options, off my face. “But you’re going to have to let me out of this restraint.” And then she coos “We’ll seal it with a kiss.”

Oh, hells no to that. “I’d rather we seal it with this.” Holding up my hand I materialize a contract containing everything we’ve talked about. And some very special wording. “You’ll sign it in your blood.” Laying the document on the counter, I release the energy restraints and grab her arm. Using the dagger I slice her arm as she howls in both pain and outrage, but not fast enough to do anything about it.

“Here. Use this. It’s appropriate.” My wings materialize and I bend one forward towards my hand. Managing to pluck a silvery secondary feather, I dip the tip in the blood running down her arm and hand it to her. “The magick in my feathers will make it doubly binding. Break the agreement and I’ll know. Immediately.”

If looks could kill, she’d be frying an angel right now. And with her, at full power, looks could. But she doesn’t have the juice right now and we both know it. She scrawls her name on the document and thrusts it at me, but drops the hand holding my feather. “Here. Take it.”

“Uh,uh uh...not so fast. I’ll take that feather back too.” Can’t let her keep it. No telling what kind of evil she’d use it to conjure up on me. Taking both feather and contract back, I step back from her and add, “You should have read the contract. In addition to specifying how you can attract souls it also specifies only /human/ souls.”

Dropping all pretense of cordiality now, I narrow my eyes at her. “I know you were imprisoned and I know how you were freed and by whom. Stick with taking the human souls agreed upon in the way we agreed upon and we don’t have a problem.” Until she breaks the contract. Then all bets are off. But one thing at a time.

“I’m going to make you pay for this Lassiter!” She yells as she grabs for the contract.

“Oh, please, bitch,” dematerializing contract and feather back to my room at the manse, “stop with the evil super-villain talk. It’s really cliche and Darkseid did it better.”

Walking to the door, I jerk it open, setting off the alarm system she’d neglected to turn off when she came in. As the earsplitting siren split the neighborhood quiet, I added...

“Oh, and if you want to avoid the police, I’d be vacating this place PDQ. I’ll be phoning in a dead body in the basement as soon as I’m out the door. Laters, babe.”

The resounding crash of what had to be the blender off the countertop hitting the door makes me chuckle as I dial 911.

“911? Yeah, I want to report a dead body….”

[theunwittingeavesdropper]

These mirrors are so wonderful, Followers. Most mirrors are too big for me once I am in my Stealth Form, but these are a perfect size. If only there were not so many humans walking around behind me. If this were not the case, my research shows that I would have had a 10/10 perfect “mirror selfie”. A trend that was popular in the early-mid 2010s that I understand is “coming back into style.” #BT21 #BT21VAN #MirrorSelfie #RudeHumans #DontWorryVan #YourPicturesLookGreat #IKEAAdventure #PartSix #BTS (at IKEA) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7JLXwYl5Td/?igshid=fowgtmg9qyzn

[enkisstories]

One clothes switch later Gavin Reed was sitting in a too large shirt and wishing for more coffee. Meanwhile Connor had gotten into the spirit of the thing, after all...

Connor: “Well, how do I look? Totally deviant, right?”

Gavin: “ Yeah. The tie really brings out the rebel in you...”