Black Rayne Silent Screams

by Yvonne Nicolas

  kinda foggy on the details.” Sighing, Blaze grazed her fingers across her wrapped

  shoulder. “We all exhausted our energy to keep fighting.”

  They had to. It was the only way they could"ve gotten out alive.

  She took in a slow breath to fill her lungs then push out a tad of her pain on

  the exhale. “How"s Jade?”

  Blaze shook her head. “Physically, she"s fine, well except for the leg, but…”

  She nibbled on her bottom lip and rested her hand on her injured shoulder. “Once

  she woke up and realized what happened at the temple wasn"t just a bad dream…”

  Blinking back the rise of tears, Copper nodded in understanding.

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  Blaze looked away as she continued. “She"s hard as a rock right now. She"s

  holding in her emotions. If she doesn"t release the pain, she"s going to self

  destruct.”

  “Give her time. You know we all have our own way of dealing with the inner

  pain. She"ll break sooner or later. We"ll just have to be there to give her support

  when she does, to help her press on.” Copper fell silent and smiled at the sound of

  Spade"s laughter coming from the other room. “What happened after I dropped?”

  she asked, vaguely remembering the moment when everything went black.

  Blaze snickered, but not in humor. “I dropped…then, from what the guys tell

  me, Jade dropped soon after.” She leaned back in the chair and stretched her legs

  out. “They carried us to the nearest town where somebody was nice enough to give

  us a ride to the hospital.” Blaze started to unhook the straps that bound her to the

  bed. “Before the nurses even had a chance to prep us for the emergency surgery we

  were supposed to have, the doctors started asking questions…” Blaze pushed out of

  the chair and held onto her arm to help her sit up. “Questions about the black

  substance we were covered in when we arrived at the hospital.”

  Ignoring the throbbing pain in her abdomen, Copper let Blaze ease her up

  into an upright position. “And they told the doctors, what exactly?”

  “They didn"t tell them anything.” Blaze lowered back into the chair. “They

  went into ninja formation and snuck us out of the hospital.”

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  Copper chuckled helplessly then cringed at the tinge of pain.

  “I"m still trying to figure out how they got all three of us out of the hospital

  without getting caught.”

  “C"mon Blaze, you know we run with the sneakiest blokes around.”

  “Seriously,” she murmured in agreement. “But anyway, when I woke up, we

  were in Tokyo.”

  “Tokyo? You"d think they were running on my speed. So when are we going

  back to the States?”

  “Steel is getting the info from Father Shannon right now. I think we"re going

  to be out of here before nightfall.”

  “Good, because I got a feeling those damn demons are going to come after

  us.”

  “Oh yeah, about that,” Blaze sighed. “They"re gathering as we speak. Quest

  sensed them before they even hit this area code.”

  “No lie? Then why aren"t they attacking?”

  Blaze tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “Do you feel the spiritual

  pressure all around us?”

  “Chicky, I could be dead and would still feel that pressure.”

  An amused smirk crept across Blazes"s lips as she opened her eyes. “That"s

  the spiritual barrier set by the shrine keepers who were nice enough to take us in.”

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  Blaze shifted her gaze from the ceiling to her. “Locked up tight. The devil himself

  couldn"t cross this barrier.”

  “Bloody fuckin" right! But then that leaves the question, how are we going to

  get out of here?”

  Blaze nodded in acquiescence, staring at the taupe colored wall. “Good

  question.”

  Fabian entered the room carrying an arm full of medical supplies with the

  lady of the house behind him. While Fabian organized the supplies on the table

  next to the bed, the short, rotund woman came to her side and dabbed her brow

  and temple with a cold cloth.

  “This is Mrs. Kahuro, the shrine keeper,” Blaze informed.

  Copper closed her eyes and accepted the soothing relief of the woman"s

  tender care. “Thank you Mrs. Kahuro. Tell her I said thanks, Blaze.”

  Fluent in Japanese, Chinese and of course Korean, Blaze uttered a series of

  words in Japanese, which brought an appreciative smile to the woman"s face. She

  turned to Blaze and murmured merrily in response to her thanks.

  “She said she"s honored to be called upon to help God"s chosen battle angels

  and would die doing so if that is what"s requested of her.” The woman cradled

  Copper"s face, kissed her forehead and whispered sweetly to her. “She said the…”

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  Blaze"s brow arched in confusion. “That the half-breed will need us to keep her on

  the path of righteousness and we are to stay by her side no matter what.”

  Blaze rested a hand on the woman"s shoulder and questioned her in her

  native tongue. Gently, she patted Blaze"s cheek. A warm smile lingered on her face

  as she left the room.

  “I have no idea what that was about.” Crossing the room, Blaze scratched

  her head. “Who is the half breed?”

  “Dragon Queen,” Quest answered from the other side of the thin door. “I

  figure that"s why we were picked to retrieve her weapons and amulet. We"re

  connected to her somehow, and I think maybe she knows that now. That"s why

  she hit us with that surge, but she didn"t do it alone—ay Blaze, hold Cop down so

  Fabe can pull out the tiny, silicone dick. We need to get this meeting on the way.”

  “Tiny silicone dick? What the shite is he going on about, Blaze?” Her eyes

  shifted from the door to Fabian just in time to see him slip his hands into a pair of

  purple rubber gloves. “Blaze, tell me something before I drop this android.”

  “Oh. Uh, Fabian"s been taking care of our, uh, medical needs,” Blaze

  stammered quickly.

  Fabian pulled on the bottom of the gloves to make sure they were securely

  on his hands then he drew the sheet from over Copper"s legs. She stared at Blaze in

  question.

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  He placed one hand on her thigh and the other on her chest. “Please lay

  back, Copper.”

  Copper peered down at his hand then cut a curt glare at Blaze.

  “Oh yeah, and Quest programmed our war names into his system. So he"s

  not always saying Lieutenant this and Sergeant that,” Blaze expressed with a

  playful grin. “Isn"t that cool?”

  “I don"t give a shite about that.” Copper eyed his purple gloved hands on her

  thigh. “What is he doing?”

  Blaze rolled her slanted eyes. “Just lay back and I"ll explain it to you.”

  Copper slowly did as requested, staring into Fabian"s impassive face. Once

  her head touched the pillow, he slid his hand higher up her thigh. “Please part your

  legs.”

  “What!” she exclaimed, lifting her head. She ignored the jolt of pain singeing

  her from the sudden movement.

  “Just open your legs,” Blaze ordered, looking like she was trying to hold

  back laughter. “Stop being difficult.”

  “Why—why does he need my legs open? Is he trying to feel me up
or

  something? What kind of android is he?”

  Blaze couldn"t hold in the laughter anymore. “He has…to remove…the

  catheter,” she confessed in between giggles.

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  “Catheter!”

  The word hadn"t even left her mouth completely before Fabian forced her

  thighs apart and carefully, but swiftly removed the tiny silicone dick. She gasped as

  he held up the long tube which had been lodged inside of her urethra a second ago.

  “You let him put a tube in my vajayjay?” she asked, glaring at Blaze. “In my

  vajayjay!”

  “He had to! You know you sleep wild. This is nothing new. You battle

  demons in your sleep. Come on Cop, you see he had to strap you to the bed,” she

  explained, pulling on the straps. “Your injuries were worse than any of ours, so you

  had to be locked down while the healer"s force worked through you, to keep you

  alive. And besides that, we didn"t want you urinating all over yourself, so in went

  the catheter.”

  “Blimey…” Copper eyes grew big when Fabian pulled a large clear bag of

  yellowish liquid from under the bed. “Is that my pee?”

  Nodding, Blaze snickered.

  “Bloody hell,” she uttered, watching him leave the room with bag. “You

  didn"t let the guys see my goods, did you?”

  A wicked smirk crossed Blaze"s face.

  “Did you?” Copper shouted, narrowing her eyes to slits.

  “Of course not, silly.”

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  There was a deep chuckle from the other room. “I always wondered if the

  carpet matched the drapes,” Quest jested smoothly.

  “You fuckin" twat!” she screeched at the closed door.

  Blaze shot out of the chair. “Shut up, Quest! Don"t listen to him. He"s just

  joking, Copper. No one but Fabe saw your goodies.”

  Like that made her feel better. Some hot android guy getting up close and

  personal with her snatch. Fabulous!

  “So can we come in yet?”

  “Not if you don"t want my foot up your tight Latino arse!” she shouted,

  drawing the sheets over her legs.

  Leaning against the door frame, Quest slid the door open. “Chill out, mami.

  Ya know I love you whether the drapes match or not. And besides, I think a fire

  crotch is sexy,” he crooned, a mischievous glint in his steel grey eyes.

  Offering him her middle finger, she slowly sat up. “Cheeky bastard.”

  Mrs. Kahuro entered the room with a large shapely bottle surrounded by

  five small ceramic cups set on a circular tray. “Sake,” she chimed with a smile.

  Spade rushed into the room with Steel on his heels. “Sake? You"re so talking

  my language, Mrs. Kahuro.” Spade embraced the blushing woman, grabbed a cup

  and took it down in on gulp. He grimaced and shook his head wildly, causing his

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  golden curls to bounce about, then he clapped his hands. “Okay dude! Now I"m

  ready to talk about the ass whipping we got back at the temple.”

  “No lie, buey. That was embarrassing. But look at it this way…” Quest

  reached over and retrieved a cup, winking at Mrs. Kahuro. “We could be dead.”

  With her cheeks burning red, the woman bowed, then quickly shuffled out

  of the room.

  Copper snorted and pursed her lips. “Oh, for fuck sake, would you wankas

  stop flirting with our hostess.”

  Huffing heavily, Steel sat on the floor, bent his leg and rubbed his forehead.

  “Let"s get serious people. The block is hot outside and Father Shannon just told me

  the ministry"s jet will arrive in six hours.”

  “Six hours? That"s too close to night fall, Captain. There"ll be more demons.”

  Blaze drew the curtains and peered out the window. “I can"t see them, but I know

  they"re there.”

  “Oh, they"re definitely there,” Quest attested, wrinkling his nose. “Bet on

  that.”

  “Well six hours is a lot better than forty-eight, so that"s what we"re gonna

  work with.” Groaning, Steel pushed the back of his head against the wall. “Super

  demons huh? With powers nonetheless?”

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  “They don"t usually roll like that, big boy. Somebody was feeding them

  power to take us out.” Quest leaned against the wall and crossed his ankles. “A

  warlock is behind this shit. I felt his presence when we went underground to get

  the girls.”

  “That"s probably who conjured the portal,” Blaze added.

  “No doubt.” Steel ran his fingers over his cornrows. “We have to hit the first

  weaponry cache when we get back to the States. And we have to get with base to

  let „em know „bout the new breed, see if they can come up with something to take

  out those big creepas a lot quicker. But I don"t know how we"re going to deal with

  this warlock. I just wish I would"ve known what we were up against before I

  pulled ya"ll out on this mission.”

  “Ay, we ain"t complaining Cap,” Spade offered, partaking in another cup of

  Sake.

  “No we"re not,” Copper averred. “We"re always up for a challenge. You know

  that. And at least now we know what"s happening to all those missing girls.”

  They all nodded.

  “It"s bad enough to know. Let"s not even talk about it,” Spade groaned,

  retrieving a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

  “Agreed.” Steel reached up and snatched the pack from him. “No smoking in

  here.”

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  “Aw c"mon, dude! I haven"t had a smoke since we left the temple! I"m on

  edge, can"t you see?”

  “Bloody right,” Copper expressed. “I think I"m going to go stark raving mad

  if I don"t get a ciggy soon.”

  “Neither one of you is smoking „til we get back to the states, especially you

  Copper. Now back to business. Let"s talk about that surge. Quest, you say it was

  the Dragon Queen…”

  “Wait, where"s Jade?” Blaze asked, glinting toward the door. “She needs to

  be here to hear this.”

  “She needed some time alone,” Quest mumbled, reaching for another cup of

  Sake. He tossed the warm liquid down his throat and sucked in a sharp gust of air.

  “A"ight the Dragon Queen…From what I perceive, her power is immature „cause she

  hasn"t gotten a hold on it yet, but it was still mind blowing, to say the least.”

  “Dude, mind blowing ain"t even scratching the surface. I"m still buzzing

  from that blow,” Spade confessed, adjusting the crotch of his pants.

  “Quest, if her power has not fully evolved, tell me, how was she able project

  energy into not one, but six Andausians with so much strength. Could you please

  hand me a drink, Blaze.” Steel gestured toward the tray of Sake. “I swear I almost

  had an orgasm,” he uttered, gently taking the cup from Blaze.

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  “Almost? Dude, there was no almost for me. She pulled a hardcore nut out of

  me on impact.” Spade"s icy blue eyes glazed in awe. “Just point me in the direction

  of the Lady Dragon „cause I"m dying to get an encore. Rock on!”

  “God, you"re a dizzy bugga,” Copper murmured, casting a humorous glance

  at Blaze.

  “Not cool, kitty. You"re not gonna make me think I"m the only one who got

  sexual satisfaction from that charge. Show of hands, who busted a big fat juicy nut

  be
sides me?”

  “Naw Spade,” Quest interjected, scratching his head. “We all felt the sexual

  elements of it. It"s the help she had, her lover, I think. That"s how she knew to

  project the energy into me. She knew my spirit would pass it to the rest of the

  team.” He wiggled his fingers in the air, a habitual tendency when he was in

  thought. “She was confused, scared. There was a lotta shit running through her

  mind at the time. I think—and I"m just spit balling it here—I don"t think she knew

  who she was until that moment.”

  “That seems a little impossible after what she did to us,” Blaze muttered,

  picking at the wrapping on her shoulder.

  “Nada es imposible.” Quest pushed off the wall and rubbed his chin. “What

  scares me about the whole thing is that the charge she hit us with was laced with a

  ton of dark energy. At first, I thought she was an angel, but now, I don"t know.”

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  “If that"s the case then why did Mrs. Kahuro, a shrine keeper and a follower of the

  light, tell us we had to stay close to her?” Blaze questioned with an arched brow. “I

  don"t mean to question your skills, brother, but I don"t think she"d tell us to stay

  close to someone laced with evil. Or better yet, I don"t think we"d be connected

  with someone casting dark energy. The logic is twisted.”

  “Twisted?” Quest cut his eyes at her. “Not all creatures who possess dark

  energy are evil.”

  The whole team stared at him liked he"d just dropped out of the sky. He

  dipped his head and rustled his hair.

  “Blimey!” Copper gasped, shattering the awkward silence. “What planet are

  you living on?”

  “Seriously dude. We"ve been battling the supernatural for years and I

  haven"t run into one that"s good hearted yet.”

  “Just „cause you ain"t run by one doesn"t mean they don"t exist. You can"t just

  judge all of them like that. If we"re going to do it that way, then we might as well

  take a closer look at the Andausians we come across,” Quest argued. “Let"s put it

  out on the table, since we"re on the topic. We"re all supposed to be descendants of

  angels, but the majority of the Andausians use their powers for personal gain and

  some of them even kill people. Isn"t that evil?”