Sable

"He's- he's gone off the deep end," Sable said as Conor guided her along by her hand. "He was going to kill me and take my powers for himself. Conor, I-I was so scared. I still am. I know the ritual time is over, but... There will be another. This is going to keep happening all throughout my entire life now."

"I won't let it," Conor said, squeezing her hand. "After all of this is over- I'll take you home. To your original realm. And then we'll destroy the gateway, and you can live peacefully for the rest of your life with the humans. Remember when you asked me what would happen after everything is done? Well, I decided that that's what's going to happen. You can ignore the call to this realm- you'd have no choice with the gateway being destroyed."

"Okay," Sable said and nodded. She held tighter onto his hand. "Did you gather the army?"

"Some of it," Conor nodded. A breath of relief escaped Sable. "Those men you spoke to, whoever they were, they really are like me. Sable- even when I was human, I've had these abilities. I didn't actually acquire them from a demon I killed. I..."

Sable squeezed his hand. That was definitely the man she wanted as her familiar, not Akeem. She knew that out of all the people in both of their realms, Conor was the only one she could completely trust. It may have been a lonely realization, but a reassuring one as well. He squeezed her hand back.

"Funny how we've only known each other for such a short time, yet we're closer than ever," Sable said.

"These are trying times," Conor said seriously. "You and I- we make quite the team."

"Conor, did-" Sable paused. "Did I kill Lucca?"

"Oh, far from it," Conor laughed nervously. He pulled her along one hallway and braced himself against the wall. "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill him."

"We should have stayed to kill him while he was down!" Sable exclaimed. Conor laughed nervously again, and she braced herself against the wall with him. "I've already used some of my magic against him, so I don't know how much more use I'll be or for how much longer. Honestly, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that he would maybe leave us alone and stay behind to lick his wounds," Conor muttered. "But you did say he's gone crazy. And I can sense he's after us- and-"

Lucca came around the corner, swiped Conor away from the wall, and his fist connected with Conor's face. Conor doubled backward and into Sable. Sable caught his shoulders in an attempt to help steady him.

Before she could get a word out Lucca had grabbed Conor away from her and had thrown him to the ground. Sable yelled for him and reached for him, but Lucca stood in the way. Lucca aimed a kick toward Conor, but before the blow could hit its mark, Sable had tackled Lucca to the ground.

The crazed vampire growled and spun around. His eyes were no longer a pretty glowing violet, but a darkening blood-red. Sable gasped and shrank back, shifting away from him. He hissed and lunged for her once more, and Sable squeezed her eyes shut tight- waiting for the pain.

But it never came. There was a thud, and when Sable opened her eyes again Lucca was staring up at her from the floor, and Akeem was standing before her. His arms were spread wide, palms flat, as if he had pulled off an attack like that. The top half of Lucca's body slid away from the bottom, his wide eyes still on Sable. Sable let out an ear-piercing scream.

Everything around her grew quiet. She could feel that she was still screaming, but she couldn't hear it. The horrifying sight of Lucca's body split in half made her stomach turn violently. She turned to the side and vomited. It was far worse than the time Conor had decapitated a monster right before her eyes; Lucca had been a thing that looked like a human. Her head spun.

Suddenly Conor was kneeling before her, after she had finished emptying the contents of her stomach. He was saying something, but it was as if someone had pressed the mute button for her hearing. She stared at him blankly as she tried to make the words out.

"Sable," he said when her hearing came back. She ceased screaming; her throat was already raw from it and the vomiting. Conor pulled her against him and held her tightly. She clung onto him. "You're okay. He was a very bad, crazy man. He deserved what he got. Don't even think about it anymore. We need you back now- the army is ready to take on Finnian and his men."

Sable was shaking her head. Conor lifted her up into his arms and carried her bridal style. Akeem stepped toward them.

"Get away from me," Sable said to Akeem. "Get away."

"Sable-" Akeem started, but she cut him off.

"Thank you for saving us, but I don't want you as my familiar anymore," she said coldly. Akeem's mouth fell open slightly; Conor became tense. "Just go."

"But- Sable, I-" Akeem tried again.

"Go away!" Sable screamed.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She heard a hiss of pain and opened them again. Akeem had torn his shirt off, and Sable could see smoke coming from his arm- from where the mark of the familiar had been.

"Sable, take it back," Conor demanded. "Take it back; you need him. He's like a human shield- he can't die. Say you want him as your familiar."

"I don't," Sable said. She didn't look at Conor, and remained focused on the skin where Akeem's mark had been- now burned and blistered. "I don't need him anymore. I'm strong enough without him."

"She wants you as her familiar," Akeem said bitterly. "In the letter she left me- that's what she wrote. She wants you. A vampire." There were tears welled up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. "That's not even possible."

"Go. Be free," Sable said to Akeem. "Go live a peaceful, mortal life. Get over Inara. Find yourself a loving wife and have a family with her."

If looks could kill, the glance Akeem had shot to Conor would have cut him down. With one last glance to his bare arm, and then to Sable again, Akeem turned and left. Sable finally turned her gaze to Conor.

"I- I don't know if I can be your familiar," Conor said. "I don't know of any vampires who have become familiars. I don't think it's possible."

"Do you want to be?" Sable asked.

"I- to be honest, no," Conor sighed. "I want- a different kind of relationship with you. But Sable- you're putting yourself in a lot of danger, going on without a familiar."

"I don't need him," Sable insisted. "And I'm fine now. I can walk, and you can put me down now."

"Are you- are you sure?" Conor asked. "I kind of don't want to put you down now. You're very- vulnerable now."

"You can hold my hand, if that makes you feel better," Sable offered. "But you will be putting me down. Please."

"Yes, ma'am," Conor sighed.

He set her back on her feet, and she stumbled, making her way over to lean against the wall. She faced the wall at first, and then turned back around. Lucca's dead body was- of course- still there. Her stomach turned again and she looked away.

"You don't look fine," Conor said. He took her hand in his. "Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?"

"The man who had abducted me and brought me into this horrible world is dead," she whispered. She squeezed his hand and looked back up at him again. "I just need a moment. I'll be fine; I promise."

Conor gave her a small smile then, and Sable did the best she could to return it. It just didn't feel right to be smiling then. Conor gave her hand another squeeze.

"So, you won't be my familiar, then," Sable sighed.

"I told you, I want to be something else to you," Conor shook his head.

"You could be both?" Sable suggested.

"I'm already immortal," Conor chuckled. "It's you I'm worried about. I have no idea if you'll live on forever now that you have all of those powers, or if you'll continue aging like a normal human."

"I don't know, either," Sable sighed.

"I hope you live to find out," Conor said.

"Me, too," Sable laughed a little. "How can you kill a god, anyway? Should they be these invulnerable beings? I guess I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around it all. Why is the familiar invulnerable, but not the god? It just doesn't add up."

"That's because you're going by the myths of your realm," Conor explained.

"I guess," Sable said. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on, let's get going. The death of Finnian awaits," Conor said. Sable rolled her eyes, but allowed him to pull her along.