Hounds in the Night

"I don't understand what you want from me," she whispered into the darkness.

"I told you," he said calmly, "I want to be your friend."

"You're a vampire. You don't keep friends, you keep pets," she said scathingly.

He laughed, long and hard, "And next you'll tell me that I haven't emotions, or a soul."

"You don't," she said, and he could tell she was trying not to roll her eyes.

"The soul part is true enough. I am damned. But I have emotions. I feel greed, lust, anger."

"You can't feel love."

"Can't I?" his nose was in her neck before she could move, his words whispered across her skin.

"Can you?" it was out with a sigh and he laughed again.

"I've never tried," he said nonchalantly, shrugging it off.

"You shouldn't have to try to feel love. It comes naturally," It was an honest statement. Something she still believed back then.

"You are truely innocent if you believe that. You forget, child, that I am not natural."

He was still in her personal space and she tried to pull away from him. He laughed, she was chained to a wall, not much room to move is there? Her eyes flashed violet for one small second and he hissed as he leapt away from the small circle of fire that danced in front of her.

"You forget that I'm not natural either."

She pushed the memory away like someone would wipe at a cobweb in the attic. Moving through her unconscious thoughts was hard, like trying to move through a veil made of silk. She sighed in her mind.

"What are you trying to show me, William? How good the old days were? I don't miss it and I don't miss you. Stop fucking with my dreams."

He was laughing through her mind, "You missed something important through that didn't you?"

She glared metaphysically at him, "I'm not playing William, stop it."

He held his hands up. Look at me...harmless lil' vampire..

"I have told you, my little Tear Drop, that you aren't looking hard enough."

What the hell--? She was floating through another memory before she could pull away.

Fangs were sunk into her neck. She was gasping, trying to pull away. It was a stupid thought, like trying to yank a snapping turtle off your ass. Her knees collapsed from beneath her when he rolled her mind, took the pain away. He was holding her to his chest, cupping her to him in a way that screamed 'MINE'.

Her eyes were closed, mouth slightly parted. It was the first time he had touched her in that way. In anyway really, he had maintained his distance in the months that she had been there. Had restrained himself from feeding on her before now.
He pulled away, his tongue stained red, his lips swollen. He said the first thing he could think, his body flushed from the fresh blood. He was drunk off the power she could barely control.

"Happy Birthday Raine." And he stepped from the cell.

Unlike the other times she had relived the memory she followed him from the cell. Followed him as he ran into the man who had taken her from her home. Travis, the master.
William licked at the blood still on his lips before he spoke.

"I drank from her," he said softly, his eyes on the floor, "She is mine."

"You waited quite the time to do that, William," Travis snapped, his eyes flashing red, "You'd do well to quell the others. Some believe you too weak to keep her."

"I drank from her," William said, "We do not share our Pommes."

"Others will challenge your claim. One time does not make her your pomme de sang," Travis teased. He leaned in and kissed his servant, "I can taste her power on your lips."

"I will kill anyone who thinks to touch her."

"I will make it known." Travis said lightly, "I will not protect you from them. As you have said, she is yours now. You keep her or lose her by your own power. I am surprised you were able to keep her safe for so long without touching her."

"I am not protecting her!" William hissed.

"There are lies in that statement," Travis said lightly. He brushed lint off his friend's shoulder, "You remember what you are and who you owe alligence to William. I will not hesitate to kill you if your new toy continues to distract you."

"Are you done?" William's voice was light, but she could feel the anger bubbling behind it.

"Your memories," she murmered, "I'm the one messing with your mind?"

"Do you still say 'Bingo' when some one is correct?"

"Tell me how to control it," she ignored his sarcasm, "This is why I left Chicago in the first place."

"Lies," William hissed, his fangs flashing for a second.

"Shut up William, how the fuck do I get out of your mind?" she hissed back.

"Wake up," he said dryly.

"Oh why thank you, Captain Obvious, How the hell do I stay out of it?"

"Use a spell. Or a charm. There are certain symbols you can use to banish negative energy. Start with those."

"Whatever," Raine sighed, "I'd say see you later, but I hope not to."

"Lies," he said, "You know I can smell them on you."

"Oh William I want your body...blah blah...I'm waking up now."

She was suddenly staring at the ceiling in her room, pissed off. She climbed to her feet, surprised that everyone else seemed to be sleeping. Except Pete, he was on patrol with Andy and Joe that night. River out for the full moon.

She slid her jeans on and pulled on her shoes. She needed to grab a few things if she was going to do this. She needed to put up a ward around the warehouse anyway. She slid a knife in her back pocket, slid on one of her wrist sheathes and a shoulder holster.
Over it all she slipped her jacket and nodded to herself. She was ready to go.

She jumped the fence to the garden with ease. She had remembered the old garden from when she was a child. It rested in the back of a church and had been tended to by the priest before his death. Now it grew unruly, the church shut up.
She found Allium Cepa (onion) easily enough as well as Rosmarius Officinalis (Rosemary), Helianthus spp. (sunflower) and even--surprisingly-- Ruta graveolens (rue). After another half hour of searching she knew she was going to have to find a novelty shop for the rest of the things she needed.

Opening her mind wide she searched for any place that felt as if it had power behind it. There were a few close but they felt too small in her mind to be anything but a personal store for a single practicioner. She opened further and found what she was looking for. She'd have to hail a cab to get there but she could deal. As she was pulling back to herself she brushed something dark. It jolted her sense and made her yank back too fast, leaving her gasping on the ground. She shuddered, pulling the shields on her mind up tight, forming them out of metal. she padlocked the door for good measure.

She quickly hailed a cab and laid her head on the window while she watched the town fly by. When they stopped she quickly paid the man his money and skipped out of the cab. She glanced around, looking for the store. She didn't see anything that shrieked 'other worldly'. Sighing she turned again.

"They aren't so tight that I can't feel you there, Brendon," she said softly.

He laughed, sweet and melodic. Held up his hands to show that he wasn't a threat. He so stole that move from William. She grinned when she thought it, her mouth straightening out as soon as she realized it.

"William sent me to check on you," Brendon said, "He felt you searching. Could hear what you wanted in his mind."

Raine face-palmed so fast that Brendon was laughing at her, "Anything supernatural with-in fifty miles could feel it. You really do need to work on your control."

"Keep talking," Raine snapped, "I'd love to send you back to William in a matchbox."

"I had hoped you'd brought that pretty friend of yours along," Brendon sighed as if he didn't hear her, "I'd love to sink into that."

"She doesn't pomme, Brendon," Raine said tiredly.

Brendon smirked, "Who said anything about bloodletting?"

"I'd kill you for touching her," Raine hissed snidely.

"You sound like William now," Brendon snickered.

"I'm looking for a store that carries Wiccan supplies," Raine said ignoring the compliment. Or insult.

"It's through here," Brendon said, leading her through an alley. He pointed to a doorway marked with the Theban letter for H. Meaning that practicioners under the Goddess Trinity ran the place. Sighing to herself she walked for the door. Brendon stood where he was and she eyed him warily.

"Am I walking into a trap, Brendon?" she shot over her shoulder.

He shook his head, "Can't enter. There's a pretty hefty ward over the door."

She looked for it and felt the power in the ward flare. It was nicely hidden with in the Theban sign. She grinned, "Give me ten minutes, Sweet n Hoe."

"I really wish he'd let me kill you," Brendon sighed.

"You could try Brenny Bear, no promises that you'd succeed."

She steped through the doorway and was out of ear shot of his remark. She grinned to herself, if Brendon hated anything more than the Mormon religion it was being ignored. Point for Raine.
She quickly told the lady at the counter what she needed, complimented her on her choice of flow-y skirt and got the hell outta there.

"Back so soon?" Brendon laughed.

"The owner is a character," Raine sighed.

"Says the girl with an athame, some salt and a pestle."

"I have other things!" Raine said, shrugging her backpack on, "Now to find a taxi."

"I'll take you," Brendon grinned flashing fangs, "But it might hurt. You're still attatched to your skin."

"Please tell me you only watched that movie once," Raine muttered as Brendon wrapped his arms around her waist. And then suddenly they were airborn. She shut her eyes tight and thought to herself that the bastard better not drop her.

When they landed it was right infront of Pete, Andy and Joe coming home for the night dawn.

"Later Witchinator," Brendon flashed fangs at Pete, "Wentz."

"Urie."

"Hurley, Trohman, Madonna..." Raine snapped, "Leave Brendon, I need to concentrate, and I'll lose the moon soon."

He was gone on a gust of wind.

"I can't believe you!" Pete shouted at her as they entered the warehouse. It echoed off the walls. She glared at him as she passed, going to the kitchen to set her things out.

"What are you making?" Andy asked, leaning on the kitchen counter.

"Better yet, what were you doing with Urie!"

"Shut up Pete," Riley said from the kitchen doorway, "You heard her earlier, they aren't the enemy anymore."

Raine ignored the two bickering and looked at Andy, "I told you, the priest isn't going to cut it."

"Ah...so a ward then?" Andy peered into her mortar, "What's that?"

"Dried rue petals, onion skin, maitake mushrooms, seed of sunflowers, rosemary leaves, wolf's perfume stem, Vervain, and poison nut. Salt," she listed off as she added in bits of each and began to grind with the pestle. She looked around her. Pulling a leather pouch out of her back pack she slid the dust in. She sliced an apple in half, added a few of the seeds. She sighed.

"Now for the fun part," she said, "I'll be on the roof. Please stay inside till I'm done. I'm not responsible for loss of limbs." She grabbed her bag and headed for the door to the roof.

On the roof she set her candles up on the cardinal points. Green for north, red for south, yellow for the east and blue for the west. Since she was going off her mind she didn't feel a need to set up a full blown alter. She laid the athame at her feet facing the east to represent the God and a bell to the west as representation of the Goddess. She poured the herbs into her hand. She sat the bag out side her circle of candles. This was going to have to work. She'd never tried it like this before.

The wind lifted, sifting it out of her hands. It swirled, carrying the powder around the building, until the foundation of the whole warehouse was covered in it. She closed her eyes, easier to see what she was doing in her mind. The candles caught fire and she called the corners. She raised the athame, using it to make a small cut on her arm, using the blood to seal the circle. It dripped to the roof, the athame glinting in the moon light. She set it back to the east, now kneeling.
For the record, who ever decided that formal rituals had to be spake in rhyme should be shot.

Hear now the words of the witches,
the secrets we hid in the night,
when dark was our destiny's pathway,
that now we bring forth into light.

Mysterious water and fire,
the earth and the wide ranging air
by hidden quintessence we know them
and will keep silent and dare.

The protection of all that reside under,
a circle around them now formed,
shrouded by night,
willed by moonlight.

The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as god and goddess,
of them do we now seek.

The bell began ringing, the athame, now stained red grew hot to the touch.

The master and mistress of magic,
They dwell deep with in the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
with power to free or to bind.

And do what you will,
So be it in love that harms none,
for this is the only commandment,
by magic of old I will it done,
So mote it be.

The bell cracked down the center, the noise stopping suddenly. The athame shattered, the pieces reflecting too many sides of the moon. Reflecting...who was that?
Raine tried to squint into the shards of what was left, but the vision was gone before she had properly seen it. She was shell shocked and it took her a moment to realize that the others had come out to the roof and were talking to her. They couldn't touch her because her circle was still closed and she stared up at them stupidly, waiting for her hearing to come back.

"Raine? What happened, the ground shuddered," Riley said, kneeling to be even with her friend's face, "Jesus, what happened to your tools?"

"Raine!" Riley was trying to force herself into the circle, "Kill the circle. Raine!"

Raine looked at her and the group took one large step back as a whole. She climbed unsteadily to her feet, looking down at her arms, her eyes wide.

"Whatever it is, whatever is here, it's bad," she whispered looking at the broken tools.

"Why do you say that?" Riley asked.

"The god and goddess were here," Raine said, her voice hitched, "They touched this place. Whatever it is, this evil thing, it--they want us to win. That must be it, they don't meddle in human affairs otherwise."

"Raine, what happened to your tools?"

"They touched them. They touched it and it shattered," she killed her circle and left everything where it lie, backing away slowly, "The warehouse is warded."

As she brushed past Andy in the moonlight two handprints on her arms were visible, worked into her skin, one right handprint on her left arm, one left handprint on her right arm.
When she stopped in the bathroom to splash her face with cool water she was met with glowing eyes. They were as blue as the night sky, the moon clearly visible in them. She gasped.

You may see whispered through her mind.

See what?The mirror infront of her shifted. She pulled away, horrified of what it might show her.

It is a gift. You may use it when you need it. And then the voice was gone, though her eyes remained the way they were. A gift from the goddess?
She slept until midnight that next night.