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Description
In A Darkened Room
By Mishi

Chapter 9
The White Knight

Allison checked her watch for the twentieth time that hour as she nervously paced in front of the shop front windows. It was 2:30 p.m. and she still couldn’t reach Maire; although she had been calling both home and cell numbers, since she suffered the vision at 10 a.m. that morning. It was not like Maire to go without answering her cell phone.

She was going to destroy her pretty white muslin skirt if she kept bunching the material in her fist and pulling at it. The skirt was one of her favorites, because it went so well with the peach cotton blouse she was wearing. This was one of her “professional” outfits that she used for seminars and lectures; and she was scheduled for another lecture this evening for a group of local folklorists on campus, so the outfit was out and she was ready to go when the shop closed.  However, as the moments passed without knowing her friend’s whereabouts, she couldn’t think of the coming evening in a positive light.

Having enough of the panic she was feeling, she went to the counter, picked up the cordless and reached for a sticky note that had a phone number written on it. “I’ll call him and tell him about the vision. He’ll find her, I know he will,” she mumbled as she dialed.

Touya had woken up in the same craptastic mood he had gone to bed with. The blood he had consumed the night before had helped to heal the four rips in his thigh, but he still had not completely healed. He had changed the bandage and decided to dress for comfort, which consisted of his jeans with the holes in the knees and a black Buck Tick concert tee that he had ordered from Japan. After another night of hunting, the wound would heal completely.

He had been playing Heretic on his computer when the phone rang. Rolling over to the bed in his desk chair, he picked up on the fourth ring, “Hello?”

“Touya, you have to find Maire.”

“What? Who is…Allison, is that you?” He was taken aback.

“It’s me, yeah. You have to find her. I had a vision and she is in danger. I’ve been trying to warn her all day, but she’s not picking up her phone,” she spoke frantically into the phone.

“What did you see in the vision?”

“I saw her tied down and someone carving symbols into her stomach. Touya, they’re like the symbols they’ve been finding on the dead women,” she explained, her voice breaking up, because she was starting to cry.

“Surroundings…what about surroundings? Give me something I can use to track her down.” He said trying not to be agitated with the lack of information.

“It’s in an apartment building somewhere. The room was dirty, but it looked like someone had been living in it. There was a bed. The man that was carving her up looked possessed. He wasn’t acting right. I definitely think this is a demonic possession. There might have been more than one guy...two, maybe. There’s another building outside the window, but it’s just red brick. I can’t tell you much more than that. I’m sorry.”

He held in the frustration and said, “Fine. I’ll start hunting for her, but I can’t act until the sun goes down. You know I’m useless until then.”

“That’ll be ok. I see it happening tonight. As long as you get to her by then, she’ll be ok.”

“How do you know she is in trouble right now?” He inquired.

“Because she always calls me right back when I call. I’ve left a dozen voice mails on both phones and she’s not calling me back.”

“Could she be at work?”

“No, she told me last night that she sees her psychiatrist today, and she told me she never works on that day. It takes too much out of her. The only thing she has to do today is go to chapel later tonight,” she answered. Then out of frustration she said, “You’re always listening, don’t you remember?”

“Ok…yeah, now I do. It’s hard to keep up with the important stuff when I have to listen to all the girl talk.”

“Well forgive us for having something to talk about that isn’t centered on you!” She shouted into the phone.

“Ok, just stop!” He yelled back. He let silence fall between them for a few seconds before continuing in a calmer tone, “The real problem is we’re both worried about Maire, let’s not take it out on each other. Just let me get off the phone so I can find her.”

“Alright, but you are calling me to let me know what is going on, so write down my number. I want regular updates.”

“Fine,” he sighed, grabbing the pen and tablet he kept on the edge of the computer desk.

He got the number and assured her that he would find their friend before hanging up. Then grabbing coat and keys, he was on his way out of his safe room and into the sunlight.

********

As always, her visit with Dr. Palmer had been enough to suck the life out of her, no matter how good a week she had been having. He hadn’t seen her new friendship as a positive event in her life, but as a “negative influence that would allow her to continue on with her delusions.”

‘What does he know about our friendship? So what if she knows about Iris and doesn’t think I’m a freak for it. That’s no reason for him to pick on her,’ She thought as she browsed the clothes on the rack outside a small boutique. ‘Too bad I forgot my cell; I’d call her and see if she wants to meet me after her lecture. No, I guess that would end too late.’ She held up a purple blouse for a closer look, but returned it to the rack. ‘Maybe tonight will be the night I’ll finally lore Touya out of hiding. That would be great. I would love to have the chance to talk to him.’  The though lightened her mood just a bit.

She continued to sift through the discounted blouses as she let her mind wander. The street around her was quiet, which she was enjoying. She was too depressed to go home, but had nowhere else to go. Finally, she sighed and moved on the next rack.

Suddenly, Maire felt something poking her in the back, and noticed there was a strange man standing behind her.

“Don’t scream, and don’t move until I tell you to,” he warned, poking the gun harder into her body.

Maire tried to see his face in the glass of the store window, but the sun was too bright and reflecting off the glass. She could sense something wasn’t right about him. There was something that made the hair on her arms stand up on end, and she didn’t think it was the gun in her back.

“You’re going to walk with me to the van...then you will get in the van. Nod if you understand.”

She nodded and he began to move her, using her body to hide the gun. The van was white and unmarked with two doors that opened in the back. He opened the right side door and forced her inside, and then locked the door behind her.

*******

Touya’s first move was to go to her apartment. Being too weak to take to the air, he had to resort to picking the locks. Lucky for him, he kept tools for this task in this glove box along with a pair of sunglasses that were proving to be a blessing for his sensitive eyes.

Once inside, he noticed her cell phone plugged into its charger on top of the bookshelf near the door. “That explains that,” he grumbled.

Although he could sense that she wasn’t there, he went to the bedroom door, and standing in the frame, he called out, “Maire, are you here?” When he got no answer, he entered the room. There on her bed were her pajamas. He sat down and picked them up. Lifting them to his face, he breathed deep taking in as much of the scent as he could. He did this as much for comfort as he did for necessity. How many times had he been in this room and smelled this warm fragrance that was all hers, he hadn’t counted. He enjoyed it, because it was soft and gentle. Now the one time he needed to remember it, it wasn’t easy to hold onto.

“My senses are shit during the day. Maybe I should take this with me?” He thought for only a moment before stuffing the tank top into his coat pocket, and returning the pants to the bed.

Returning to the living room, he started going through her address book looking for her psychiatrist’s address. If he remembered right, he knew the doctor’s name. He went to the P’s and wrote Dr. Palmer’s address down on the same sheet of paper that Allison’s number was on. After completing that task, he picked up the cordless and called Allison.

“Maire?” She had been relieved to see the number pop up on her cell.

“Sorry, but it’s me,” he answered, smashing her hopes. “I know why she hasn’t called you back; her cell is at the apartment. She left it on the charger.”

“But that doesn’t explain where she is.”

“I know. Listen, I’m going to her shrink’s office…I’m going to see if I can track her from there. Do whatever you do to lend me a hand…pray or something. I am working at human strength here.”

“You’ll find her, Touya. I know you can find her. I’ll do a spell to give you luck. I’ll see what else I can conjure up in a short time.”

“Fine…I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up without waiting for her response.

On his way out, he disconnected Maire’s cell phone from the charger and put it in his pocket, and then exited her apartment.

The trip into the business district was a pain in the ass for Touya. He was impatient with the traffic as he crawled through the streets at a safe speed. Any trip during the day had to be taken with care, because his senses were no better than a human’s. His reaction time, his vision, his hearing, it was all affected in the light of day. If he were to injure himself during this time, he might not be able to escape notice from the human world; where as in the night he could rely on his speed and senses to make a quick get-a-way, and cover his tracks. Cursing his annoying vulnerability, he reached the doctor’s office with a chip on his shoulder.

He could see there was only one receptionist before he even entered the building, because the front of the office was made up of several large windows. The waiting room was a big open area with a few tables in the middle and chairs against the windows and walls. It looked like a busy afternoon for the office with half of the seats being full.

With chip firmly in place, Touya strolled up to the receptions desk and didn’t even bother to try gentle questioning first, he looked the Prada clad receptionist right in the eyes and tapped into her mind. “Where did Maire O’Fergus go when she left this office?” The voice sounded sweet, but the attitude was bitter.

The blond haired woman with a round face and yellow cashmere sweater, pointed and said, “The shops across the street.”

He immediately turned and headed where she had pointed. He could smell a faint trail of her scent on things she had touched as she had walked along looking at the items outside the shops. Then as suddenly as it began, he lost the trail. It ended in front of a clothing shop called, The Rainy Day Boutique. In desperation he went inside.

The shop was small with only a few clothing racks to the left of the door, and more clothes on hooks that hung from the walls. The counter was towards the back of the room and there appeared to be a walk-in closet behind it that covered for a back room.  In the left back corner stood a large folding screen for trying on items.

“Hello,” the woman from behind the counter greeted him, stepping around it into the open room. “Is there anything I can help you find?”

She was a lovely woman with brown curls that hung down her back. Her white cotton blouse was darted at the waist and unbuttoned enough to show a healthy bit of cleavage. Her black pants were tailored to be form fitting, and she had a smile that made him forget that he was agitated.

“Yes, I’m looking for a young woman with red hair. It would be about as long as yours. She’s short and wears a burgundy windbreaker. I believe she was here earlier today,” he finished, walking closer to her.

“I don’t remember anyone coming in like that.”

“She might have stayed outside,” he suggested, standing directly in front of her.

She was caught by his eyes, “She was here.”

“Close your eyes,” he commanded her.

Moving her hair away from her neck, he took her in his arms and let his fangs pierce her lovely flesh. He reached deep into her mind to find the memories that fit the day’s activities. Quickly he went through the day until, through her eyes, he saw the white van and Maire being forced inside. The woman in his arms had thought it was strange, but did nothing about it. Like so many others, she was quick to turn away. That angered him, but he remained gentle. Pulling back, he hid the wound with his blood and returned her hair to her shoulder.

“You’ll go back to work when I’m gone. You just had a nice daydream brought on by the boredom of a long day.” He instructed as turned for the door.

**********

Allison watched the tiny green candles burn as she waited for Touya to call. She had had two customers in the shop when she had done the spell that would help him find Maire. Now she stood next to the table that was normally where she did tarot readings, watching the spell unfold. Seven small, thin candles circled a picture of Maire that she had taken on her cell and printed out for the spell. When the candles burned down, Touya would find her. She had made sure to use one hour candles, and the candles were a quarter of the way burned.

She was holding her cell in her hand when it rang, causing her to jump. She flipped the phone opened and looked at the number.  She answered it with a desperate hope that the number matched the person who was calling, “Please tell me this is Maire and not Touya.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but you said to keep you up on stuff,” Touya responded, trying to sound less agitated than he felt.

“I was just hoping,” she sighed into the phone.

“I’ve checked the entire west side. I know I’m looking for a white van. I’m about to check the south side of the city. If their not here, then I can’t think of any other place they might have taken her in town. You sure it was an apartment they were in and not a house?”

“Positive, I could tell by the way the rooms were set up. I could see another building out a window, but nothing to tell me where it was.”

“Ok, that leaves me headed south. I’ll call again when I know something.”

She was left standing there listening to nothing. Angrily, she slapped her phone shut and starred at it as though it was the offending party. “Grrr…I know he’s pissed about running around in the sunlight but does he have to be a complete ass? Damn it, Touya, learn some phone skills!”

********

About forty five minutes before full sunset, Touya noticed a white van parked in an alley behind an abandoned building. It was one of two buildings that stood on that side of the street. To keep from being noticed he parked on the next block, instead of in the alley, and went to investigate the van on foot.

With sword out, he walked up to peek in the driver’s side window. He was sweating bullets as he did so. If he were to fight a human in the daylight hours, he might have a chance of winning; but to fight a demon during this time, he would be as good as dead. This was a predicament that he was not very proud of. He could feel the residue of the demonic energy, so he walked around to the rear of the van to check the doors. Luckily they were unlocked. He opened them and he could smell her all over the back of the van.

He closed the doors and rested his head against them, and whispered, “I found you.”

However, the relief would be short lived when he thought about her alone with a pair of possessed murderers. He thought of going in anyway, but his survival instincts kicked in. Yes, he had martial arts training and he was strong, but he knew he still could not fight a demon and win in his present state. Defeated and angry, he walked back to the Mustang to keep himself from doing something stupid.

Safely back at the car, he pulled out her phone and called Allison.

“Touya?” She whispered into the phone.

“Yeah…I found her. She’s in a building on Seemore.”

“Oh, thanks be to the Goddess. I knew the spell would work.”

“Spell, huh? Ok…could it be that I worked my ass off?” He growled.

There was a long sigh, then she said, “Whatever you want, Touya. Just get to her on time.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“I’m at a lecture. I’m setting up and I’ll be starting in a few minutes. And I don’t want anyone to hear my conversation.”

“I guess that answers my question,” he mumbled checking all the mirrors for anything that might try creeping up on him.

“Wait, you’re trying to keep yourself busy until the sun goes down, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and it’s not working too well.” He laughed and said, “I’m one of the things that goes bump in the night, but I’m hiding in my car.”

“I’m sorry, Touya. I know it has to suck for you right now.”

“It’s a little hard on the ego, I’ll tell ya.”

“Listen, Touya, I have to go, but just hang in there; you only have twenty minutes to go. I mean, it looks like the sun is practically down from the window I’m looking out of.”

“Thanks. Hey…good luck with your lecture. I’ll call you as soon as I have her.” He shut the phone and put it in the glove box along with Maire’s tank top.

He spent the next ten minutes trying to come up with some sort of plan of attack, part of which included disabling the van. With ten minutes to go, and the suns last rays on the horizon, he could wait no longer.  Pulling the Mustang around the corner, so it would be closer for a get-a-way, he locked it and set out towards his quest.

********

He started with the first floor and worked his way up. Walking from one floor to another, he was searching for evidence of demonic power. He knew when he found it, he would find Maire. He moved along carefully, with sword out, ready for anything that came his way.

It was on the fourth floor that he saw a large blob of white light hovering in front of one of the apartment doors. It was energy, but not demonic. He slowly walked towards it, watching it fade the closer he got to the door. By the time he was directly facing the door, the light was gone. He had been left there blinking, wondering what he had just seen. Then his mind changed gears and he could feel the demonic energy coming from the other side of the door.

Feeling his strength was at full power once again, he didn’t hesitate; he kicked in the door, catching the woman inside off guard. She was blond with hair to her shoulders, and her tan full length coat covering her jeans and white shirt. She was holding towels and standing next to a table that sat in the center of the small living room. The blond didn’t seem threatening at all. He had been expecting a possessed human, but she wasn’t giving off any energy, so she had to be human. He could hear muffled screams from the bedroom to the left of the entrance, and he could feel the energy coming off the door. He looked form the woman to the bedroom door, and thought about rushing towards it, but she came to her senses and attacked.

He dodged the first blow, but took some damage with her second attempt at taking some flesh from his side.

“Shit, you have claws!” He exclaimed, putting the sword between them. The wound was sore and refusing to heal like one caused by a demon. “What the fuck? You’re not human, are you?”

“Nooo…,” she let it out slowly with a wicked little grin.

She went for him hoping to slash is neck, and he sliced her upper arm with the sword. She howled with frustration of having missed her target. He heard Maire scream again, and decided to do the charging himself. He went for her head and missed, dodging her claws that were pointed at his heart, but he did manage to hit her neck. She screamed looking at the blood, even thought the wound was not a killing one. He had missed the jugular. It must have been too close for her comfort because she ran to the door. He went to follow, but Maire’s screams got louder. He let the creature go and rushed to the bedroom.

She was tied to a bed that had a metal headboard and footboard, legs spread wide, and her body completely exposed. There was a man setting between her legs. He had on dirty faded jeans and a Metallica tee shirt. His hair was a dark blond and looked like it hadn’t been washed for days. From what Touya could tell, he was using a razor blade to carve symbols into her abdomen.

“Get away from her,” he yelled, letting the back of his hand collide with the man’s left temple. It sent the man flying into the wall at the foot of the bed.

Immediately red mist left the man’s mouth and headed for the bed, Touya reached into his pocket for the sea salt and tossed it between the mist and Maire’s body. The demon materialized near the head of the bed and the second window in the room.

“Give her to me…she bears my name, she is mine!” It demanded.

“That’s what the symbols are, names?” Touya looked at her and she struggled against the ropes that held her. “Come on, asshole; try to take her from me.”

The demon moved around the bed, careful to avoid the salt. It lunged and Touya dodged it, taking a hunk out of its side. With a quick spin, before the thing could turn to attack again, he cut the back of its neck. It tried to attack again, and he raised the sword at just the right moment to aim for the things throat. It fell to the floor and exploded into a mist. Then heading for the window, it was gone.

With it gone, he turned back to look at her. He caught her looking at him with wild eyes. He dropped the sword and went to the bed. He took the gag from her mouth and asked, “What did they do to you?”

“I don’t know. He hit me and knocked me out. I woke up naked and tied to the bed.” She was fighting with the ropes. Her voice was frantic.

“I’m going to use my blood to heal the wounds on your stomach. This is going to feel weird, so I’m going to leave you tied up until I’m done. It will not hurt you, I promise.” He used his fangs to tear open his wrist and smeared the blood over the wounds. Instantly skin began to grow and move back into place. All the blood was being sucked back into the tissue to collect in the veins and tiny blood vessels.

“Oh God, what are you doing to me? It feels like my skin is crawling off my body,” She said, kicking and pulling at her bonds.

“The tissue is reforming and repairing itself. I told you it would feel weird,” he explained in a soft voice, as if talking to a child.

He got up and started untying her legs. He used his blood to heal the rope burns there as well. While he was at the foot of the bed he noticed a magic circle had been traced under it. The symbols around the circle he knew to be a summoning ritual.

He moved to untie her hands and heal her wrists, and she fought him. Again, voice soft and low, “Maire let me heal these. We can’t let the authorities know what happened here, and rope burns will not work with the story we will be using. You have to trust me.”

“Why didn’t Iris come?”

“I don’t know.”

“I called for her and she didn’t come.”

“Baby, look at me. I need to make sure you understand me. I think you are going into shock, and I have to make sure you have your story straight before that happens.” She looked at him. “You were passing the alley next to your apartment building when someone pulled you into the alley. They tore your clothes off and I found you. Tell them you were knocked out and don’t remember what happened,” he instructed, reaching up to touch her bruised eye. “That will be the truth. We need them to give you the morning after pill.”

She shook her head and muttered, “No, no, no.”

“Listen to me,” he said gently, “If you are pregnant right now, it might not be human. I think they were trying to impregnate you with something. There’s a summoning circle under the bed. This is the same way those women from the papers have been found…the ones with the symbols carved into them. Remember, they had all given birth?”

She nodded and he continued, “I don’t see your clothes, so I’m giving you my coat. You’ll be carrying my sword and I’ll be carrying you, ok?”

Again she nodded and said nothing. He stood her up and helped her get into the coat, and then buttoning her up, he gave her the sword. Then he scooped her up into his arms and he carried her out of the apartment.

Description
In A Darkened Room
By Mishi

Chapter 9
The White Knight

Allison checked her watch for the twentieth time that hour as she nervously paced in front of the shop front windows. It was 2:30 p.m. and she still couldn’t reach Maire; although she had been calling both home and cell numbers, since she suffered the vision at 10 a.m. that morning. It was not like Maire to go without answering her cell phone.

She was going to destroy her pretty white muslin skirt if she kept bunching the material in her fist and pulling at it. The skirt was one of her favorites, because it went so well with the peach cotton blouse she was wearing. This was one of her “professional” outfits that she used for seminars and lectures; and she was scheduled for another lecture this evening for a group of local folklorists on campus, so the outfit was out and she was ready to go when the shop closed.  However, as the moments passed without knowing her friend’s whereabouts, she couldn’t think of the coming evening in a positive light.

Having enough of the panic she was feeling, she went to the counter, picked up the cordless and reached for a sticky note that had a phone number written on it. “I’ll call him and tell him about the vision. He’ll find her, I know he will,” she mumbled as she dialed.

Touya had woken up in the same craptastic mood he had gone to bed with. The blood he had consumed the night before had helped to heal the four rips in his thigh, but he still had not completely healed. He had changed the bandage and decided to dress for comfort, which consisted of his jeans with the holes in the knees and a black Buck Tick concert tee that he had ordered from Japan. After another night of hunting, the wound would heal completely.

He had been playing Heretic on his computer when the phone rang. Rolling over to the bed in his desk chair, he picked up on the fourth ring, “Hello?”

“Touya, you have to find Maire.”

“What? Who is…Allison, is that you?” He was taken aback.

“It’s me, yeah. You have to find her. I had a vision and she is in danger. I’ve been trying to warn her all day, but she’s not picking up her phone,” she spoke frantically into the phone.

“What did you see in the vision?”

“I saw her tied down and someone carving symbols into her stomach. Touya, they’re like the symbols they’ve been finding on the dead women,” she explained, her voice breaking up, because she was starting to cry.

“Surroundings…what about surroundings? Give me something I can use to track her down.” He said trying not to be agitated with the lack of information.

“It’s in an apartment building somewhere. The room was dirty, but it looked like someone had been living in it. There was a bed. The man that was carving her up looked possessed. He wasn’t acting right. I definitely think this is a demonic possession. There might have been more than one guy...two, maybe. There’s another building outside the window, but it’s just red brick. I can’t tell you much more than that. I’m sorry.”

He held in the frustration and said, “Fine. I’ll start hunting for her, but I can’t act until the sun goes down. You know I’m useless until then.”

“That’ll be ok. I see it happening tonight. As long as you get to her by then, she’ll be ok.”

“How do you know she is in trouble right now?” He inquired.

“Because she always calls me right back when I call. I’ve left a dozen voice mails on both phones and she’s not calling me back.”

“Could she be at work?”

“No, she told me last night that she sees her psychiatrist today, and she told me she never works on that day. It takes too much out of her. The only thing she has to do today is go to chapel later tonight,” she answered. Then out of frustration she said, “You’re always listening, don’t you remember?”

“Ok…yeah, now I do. It’s hard to keep up with the important stuff when I have to listen to all the girl talk.”

“Well forgive us for having something to talk about that isn’t centered on you!” She shouted into the phone.

“Ok, just stop!” He yelled back. He let silence fall between them for a few seconds before continuing in a calmer tone, “The real problem is we’re both worried about Maire, let’s not take it out on each other. Just let me get off the phone so I can find her.”

“Alright, but you are calling me to let me know what is going on, so write down my number. I want regular updates.”

“Fine,” he sighed, grabbing the pen and tablet he kept on the edge of the computer desk.

He got the number and assured her that he would find their friend before hanging up. Then grabbing coat and keys, he was on his way out of his safe room and into the sunlight.

********

As always, her visit with Dr. Palmer had been enough to suck the life out of her, no matter how good a week she had been having. He hadn’t seen her new friendship as a positive event in her life, but as a “negative influence that would allow her to continue on with her delusions.”

‘What does he know about our friendship? So what if she knows about Iris and doesn’t think I’m a freak for it. That’s no reason for him to pick on her,’ She thought as she browsed the clothes on the rack outside a small boutique. ‘Too bad I forgot my cell; I’d call her and see if she wants to meet me after her lecture. No, I guess that would end too late.’ She held up a purple blouse for a closer look, but returned it to the rack. ‘Maybe tonight will be the night I’ll finally lore Touya out of hiding. That would be great. I would love to have the chance to talk to him.’  The though lightened her mood just a bit.

She continued to sift through the discounted blouses as she let her mind wander. The street around her was quiet, which she was enjoying. She was too depressed to go home, but had nowhere else to go. Finally, she sighed and moved on the next rack.

Suddenly, Maire felt something poking her in the back, and noticed there was a strange man standing behind her.

“Don’t scream, and don’t move until I tell you to,” he warned, poking the gun harder into her body.

Maire tried to see his face in the glass of the store window, but the sun was too bright and reflecting off the glass. She could sense something wasn’t right about him. There was something that made the hair on her arms stand up on end, and she didn’t think it was the gun in her back.

“You’re going to walk with me to the van...then you will get in the van. Nod if you understand.”

She nodded and he began to move her, using her body to hide the gun. The van was white and unmarked with two doors that opened in the back. He opened the right side door and forced her inside, and then locked the door behind her.

*******

Touya’s first move was to go to her apartment. Being too weak to take to the air, he had to resort to picking the locks. Lucky for him, he kept tools for this task in this glove box along with a pair of sunglasses that were proving to be a blessing for his sensitive eyes.

Once inside, he noticed her cell phone plugged into its charger on top of the bookshelf near the door. “That explains that,” he grumbled.

Although he could sense that she wasn’t there, he went to the bedroom door, and standing in the frame, he called out, “Maire, are you here?” When he got no answer, he entered the room. There on her bed were her pajamas. He sat down and picked them up. Lifting them to his face, he breathed deep taking in as much of the scent as he could. He did this as much for comfort as he did for necessity. How many times had he been in this room and smelled this warm fragrance that was all hers, he hadn’t counted. He enjoyed it, because it was soft and gentle. Now the one time he needed to remember it, it wasn’t easy to hold onto.

“My senses are shit during the day. Maybe I should take this with me?” He thought for only a moment before stuffing the tank top into his coat pocket, and returning the pants to the bed.

Returning to the living room, he started going through her address book looking for her psychiatrist’s address. If he remembered right, he knew the doctor’s name. He went to the P’s and wrote Dr. Palmer’s address down on the same sheet of paper that Allison’s number was on. After completing that task, he picked up the cordless and called Allison.

“Maire?” She had been relieved to see the number pop up on her cell.

“Sorry, but it’s me,” he answered, smashing her hopes. “I know why she hasn’t called you back; her cell is at the apartment. She left it on the charger.”

“But that doesn’t explain where she is.”

“I know. Listen, I’m going to her shrink’s office…I’m going to see if I can track her from there. Do whatever you do to lend me a hand…pray or something. I am working at human strength here.”

“You’ll find her, Touya. I know you can find her. I’ll do a spell to give you luck. I’ll see what else I can conjure up in a short time.”

“Fine…I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up without waiting for her response.

On his way out, he disconnected Maire’s cell phone from the charger and put it in his pocket, and then exited her apartment.

The trip into the business district was a pain in the ass for Touya. He was impatient with the traffic as he crawled through the streets at a safe speed. Any trip during the day had to be taken with care, because his senses were no better than a human’s. His reaction time, his vision, his hearing, it was all affected in the light of day. If he were to injure himself during this time, he might not be able to escape notice from the human world; where as in the night he could rely on his speed and senses to make a quick get-a-way, and cover his tracks. Cursing his annoying vulnerability, he reached the doctor’s office with a chip on his shoulder.

He could see there was only one receptionist before he even entered the building, because the front of the office was made up of several large windows. The waiting room was a big open area with a few tables in the middle and chairs against the windows and walls. It looked like a busy afternoon for the office with half of the seats being full.

With chip firmly in place, Touya strolled up to the receptions desk and didn’t even bother to try gentle questioning first, he looked the Prada clad receptionist right in the eyes and tapped into her mind. “Where did Maire O’Fergus go when she left this office?” The voice sounded sweet, but the attitude was bitter.

The blond haired woman with a round face and yellow cashmere sweater, pointed and said, “The shops across the street.”

He immediately turned and headed where she had pointed. He could smell a faint trail of her scent on things she had touched as she had walked along looking at the items outside the shops. Then as suddenly as it began, he lost the trail. It ended in front of a clothing shop called, The Rainy Day Boutique. In desperation he went inside.

The shop was small with only a few clothing racks to the left of the door, and more clothes on hooks that hung from the walls. The counter was towards the back of the room and there appeared to be a walk-in closet behind it that covered for a back room.  In the left back corner stood a large folding screen for trying on items.

“Hello,” the woman from behind the counter greeted him, stepping around it into the open room. “Is there anything I can help you find?”

She was a lovely woman with brown curls that hung down her back. Her white cotton blouse was darted at the waist and unbuttoned enough to show a healthy bit of cleavage. Her black pants were tailored to be form fitting, and she had a smile that made him forget that he was agitated.

“Yes, I’m looking for a young woman with red hair. It would be about as long as yours. She’s short and wears a burgundy windbreaker. I believe she was here earlier today,” he finished, walking closer to her.

“I don’t remember anyone coming in like that.”

“She might have stayed outside,” he suggested, standing directly in front of her.

She was caught by his eyes, “She was here.”

“Close your eyes,” he commanded her.

Moving her hair away from her neck, he took her in his arms and let his fangs pierce her lovely flesh. He reached deep into her mind to find the memories that fit the day’s activities. Quickly he went through the day until, through her eyes, he saw the white van and Maire being forced inside. The woman in his arms had thought it was strange, but did nothing about it. Like so many others, she was quick to turn away. That angered him, but he remained gentle. Pulling back, he hid the wound with his blood and returned her hair to her shoulder.

“You’ll go back to work when I’m gone. You just had a nice daydream brought on by the boredom of a long day.” He instructed as turned for the door.

**********

Allison watched the tiny green candles burn as she waited for Touya to call. She had had two customers in the shop when she had done the spell that would help him find Maire. Now she stood next to the table that was normally where she did tarot readings, watching the spell unfold. Seven small, thin candles circled a picture of Maire that she had taken on her cell and printed out for the spell. When the candles burned down, Touya would find her. She had made sure to use one hour candles, and the candles were a quarter of the way burned.

She was holding her cell in her hand when it rang, causing her to jump. She flipped the phone opened and looked at the number.  She answered it with a desperate hope that the number matched the person who was calling, “Please tell me this is Maire and not Touya.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but you said to keep you up on stuff,” Touya responded, trying to sound less agitated than he felt.

“I was just hoping,” she sighed into the phone.

“I’ve checked the entire west side. I know I’m looking for a white van. I’m about to check the south side of the city. If their not here, then I can’t think of any other place they might have taken her in town. You sure it was an apartment they were in and not a house?”

“Positive, I could tell by the way the rooms were set up. I could see another building out a window, but nothing to tell me where it was.”

“Ok, that leaves me headed south. I’ll call again when I know something.”

She was left standing there listening to nothing. Angrily, she slapped her phone shut and starred at it as though it was the offending party. “Grrr…I know he’s pissed about running around in the sunlight but does he have to be a complete ass? Damn it, Touya, learn some phone skills!”

********

About forty five minutes before full sunset, Touya noticed a white van parked in an alley behind an abandoned building. It was one of two buildings that stood on that side of the street. To keep from being noticed he parked on the next block, instead of in the alley, and went to investigate the van on foot.

With sword out, he walked up to peek in the driver’s side window. He was sweating bullets as he did so. If he were to fight a human in the daylight hours, he might have a chance of winning; but to fight a demon during this time, he would be as good as dead. This was a predicament that he was not very proud of. He could feel the residue of the demonic energy, so he walked around to the rear of the van to check the doors. Luckily they were unlocked. He opened them and he could smell her all over the back of the van.

He closed the doors and rested his head against them, and whispered, “I found you.”

However, the relief would be short lived when he thought about her alone with a pair of possessed murderers. He thought of going in anyway, but his survival instincts kicked in. Yes, he had martial arts training and he was strong, but he knew he still could not fight a demon and win in his present state. Defeated and angry, he walked back to the Mustang to keep himself from doing something stupid.

Safely back at the car, he pulled out her phone and called Allison.

“Touya?” She whispered into the phone.

“Yeah…I found her. She’s in a building on Seemore.”

“Oh, thanks be to the Goddess. I knew the spell would work.”

“Spell, huh? Ok…could it be that I worked my ass off?” He growled.

There was a long sigh, then she said, “Whatever you want, Touya. Just get to her on time.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“I’m at a lecture. I’m setting up and I’ll be starting in a few minutes. And I don’t want anyone to hear my conversation.”

“I guess that answers my question,” he mumbled checking all the mirrors for anything that might try creeping up on him.

“Wait, you’re trying to keep yourself busy until the sun goes down, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and it’s not working too well.” He laughed and said, “I’m one of the things that goes bump in the night, but I’m hiding in my car.”

“I’m sorry, Touya. I know it has to suck for you right now.”

“It’s a little hard on the ego, I’ll tell ya.”

“Listen, Touya, I have to go, but just hang in there; you only have twenty minutes to go. I mean, it looks like the sun is practically down from the window I’m looking out of.”

“Thanks. Hey…good luck with your lecture. I’ll call you as soon as I have her.” He shut the phone and put it in the glove box along with Maire’s tank top.

He spent the next ten minutes trying to come up with some sort of plan of attack, part of which included disabling the van. With ten minutes to go, and the suns last rays on the horizon, he could wait no longer.  Pulling the Mustang around the corner, so it would be closer for a get-a-way, he locked it and set out towards his quest.

********

He started with the first floor and worked his way up. Walking from one floor to another, he was searching for evidence of demonic power. He knew when he found it, he would find Maire. He moved along carefully, with sword out, ready for anything that came his way.

It was on the fourth floor that he saw a large blob of white light hovering in front of one of the apartment doors. It was energy, but not demonic. He slowly walked towards it, watching it fade the closer he got to the door. By the time he was directly facing the door, the light was gone. He had been left there blinking, wondering what he had just seen. Then his mind changed gears and he could feel the demonic energy coming from the other side of the door.

Feeling his strength was at full power once again, he didn’t hesitate; he kicked in the door, catching the woman inside off guard. She was blond with hair to her shoulders, and her tan full length coat covering her jeans and white shirt. She was holding towels and standing next to a table that sat in the center of the small living room. The blond didn’t seem threatening at all. He had been expecting a possessed human, but she wasn’t giving off any energy, so she had to be human. He could hear muffled screams from the bedroom to the left of the entrance, and he could feel the energy coming off the door. He looked form the woman to the bedroom door, and thought about rushing towards it, but she came to her senses and attacked.

He dodged the first blow, but took some damage with her second attempt at taking some flesh from his side.

“Shit, you have claws!” He exclaimed, putting the sword between them. The wound was sore and refusing to heal like one caused by a demon. “What the fuck? You’re not human, are you?”

“Nooo…,” she let it out slowly with a wicked little grin.

She went for him hoping to slash is neck, and he sliced her upper arm with the sword. She howled with frustration of having missed her target. He heard Maire scream again, and decided to do the charging himself. He went for her head and missed, dodging her claws that were pointed at his heart, but he did manage to hit her neck. She screamed looking at the blood, even thought the wound was not a killing one. He had missed the jugular. It must have been too close for her comfort because she ran to the door. He went to follow, but Maire’s screams got louder. He let the creature go and rushed to the bedroom.

She was tied to a bed that had a metal headboard and footboard, legs spread wide, and her body completely exposed. There was a man setting between her legs. He had on dirty faded jeans and a Metallica tee shirt. His hair was a dark blond and looked like it hadn’t been washed for days. From what Touya could tell, he was using a razor blade to carve symbols into her abdomen.

“Get away from her,” he yelled, letting the back of his hand collide with the man’s left temple. It sent the man flying into the wall at the foot of the bed.

Immediately red mist left the man’s mouth and headed for the bed, Touya reached into his pocket for the sea salt and tossed it between the mist and Maire’s body. The demon materialized near the head of the bed and the second window in the room.

“Give her to me…she bears my name, she is mine!” It demanded.

“That’s what the symbols are, names?” Touya looked at her and she struggled against the ropes that held her. “Come on, asshole; try to take her from me.”

The demon moved around the bed, careful to avoid the salt. It lunged and Touya dodged it, taking a hunk out of its side. With a quick spin, before the thing could turn to attack again, he cut the back of its neck. It tried to attack again, and he raised the sword at just the right moment to aim for the things throat. It fell to the floor and exploded into a mist. Then heading for the window, it was gone.

With it gone, he turned back to look at her. He caught her looking at him with wild eyes. He dropped the sword and went to the bed. He took the gag from her mouth and asked, “What did they do to you?”

“I don’t know. He hit me and knocked me out. I woke up naked and tied to the bed.” She was fighting with the ropes. Her voice was frantic.

“I’m going to use my blood to heal the wounds on your stomach. This is going to feel weird, so I’m going to leave you tied up until I’m done. It will not hurt you, I promise.” He used his fangs to tear open his wrist and smeared the blood over the wounds. Instantly skin began to grow and move back into place. All the blood was being sucked back into the tissue to collect in the veins and tiny blood vessels.

“Oh God, what are you doing to me? It feels like my skin is crawling off my body,” She said, kicking and pulling at her bonds.

“The tissue is reforming and repairing itself. I told you it would feel weird,” he explained in a soft voice, as if talking to a child.

He got up and started untying her legs. He used his blood to heal the rope burns there as well. While he was at the foot of the bed he noticed a magic circle had been traced under it. The symbols around the circle he knew to be a summoning ritual.

He moved to untie her hands and heal her wrists, and she fought him. Again, voice soft and low, “Maire let me heal these. We can’t let the authorities know what happened here, and rope burns will not work with the story we will be using. You have to trust me.”

“Why didn’t Iris come?”

“I don’t know.”

“I called for her and she didn’t come.”

“Baby, look at me. I need to make sure you understand me. I think you are going into shock, and I have to make sure you have your story straight before that happens.” She looked at him. “You were passing the alley next to your apartment building when someone pulled you into the alley. They tore your clothes off and I found you. Tell them you were knocked out and don’t remember what happened,” he instructed, reaching up to touch her bruised eye. “That will be the truth. We need them to give you the morning after pill.”

She shook her head and muttered, “No, no, no.”

“Listen to me,” he said gently, “If you are pregnant right now, it might not be human. I think they were trying to impregnate you with something. There’s a summoning circle under the bed. This is the same way those women from the papers have been found…the ones with the symbols carved into them. Remember, they had all given birth?”

She nodded and he continued, “I don’t see your clothes, so I’m giving you my coat. You’ll be carrying my sword and I’ll be carrying you, ok?”

Again she nodded and said nothing. He stood her up and helped her get into the coat, and then buttoning her up, he gave her the sword. Then he scooped her up into his arms and he carried her out of the apartment.