by Janene Wood
The other three tethers began circling around behind her. The leather-clad binder said, “Why make this harder than it has to be? You will be coming with us.”
Kate walked toward him while he was still talking, accelerating at the last moment and landing a well-placed kick to the groin. He doubled over, groaning like he had received a mortal blow, and she kneed him in the face, dropping him to his knees. At the same time, a blinding flash of light flew past her – toward the binders – obliterating the tether to his left.
“Unless you want to lose more tethers, back off and let her pass!” called a young female voice. “I can do this all night if I have to.”
Kate didn't know who had come to her aid or why, but was glad she was no longer alone. She would have gone for the second binder and made good her escape, but the remaining tether lunged at her, forcing her to retreat. The demon was too insubstantial to hurt her physically, but if it attached itself to her, it would influence her state of mind, making her doubt herself and drag her down the road to emotional despair.
Sending her own light at it, she hit it squarely in the chest, causing it to falter but doing no serious damage. Damn! It was stronger than she'd thought. She focused her energy once more and this time got the desired result. Two down.
In retaliation for the loss of his companion's tethers, Merlin sent a fireball back toward Kate's unknown helpmate, missing Kate by inches. Glancing around, Kate was relieved to see he’d missed his target.
“Be careful, you fool!” the red binder cried in a strangled voice. “We need her alive!”
Kate grimaced as Merlin summoned reinforcements. Another two tethers materialised at his side. That made five, excluding the two they already banished.
The red binder was muttering to himself and Kate felt the uncomfortable tingle of dark magic. He was working a spell, but she couldn't tell more than that.
“Give it up!” called Kate's new ally. Another burst of energy flew past, but it fizzled out as soon as it made contact with Red. Unfortunately, Zion's light didn't have the same effect on witches that it did on demons, and he was unaffected. It did distract him though, giving Kate a chance to retreat a little further till she was side by side with the helpful stranger.
She eyed the three tethers behind them warily, but they were content for the moment acting as a barricade, preventing the two slayers from slipping away down the alley.
Kate checked out the girl beside her, who had a slim figure, short red hair, and looked to be her height and age. “I don't know who you are or where you came from, but thanks,” she said, planting her feet and sending a pulse of light at one of the slowly approaching tethers.
“No problem,” grinned the red-haired stranger. “I haven't had this much fun in ages.”
Kate couldn't believe she was actually enjoying herself. To each their own, she supposed, as she attempted to raise her hand again to give the tether another burst. Except she couldn't move her arm. Couldn't move her legs or head either. Quietly panicking, she realised she was stiff all over, unable to move any part of her body. She tried to speak, but her lips were glued shut. She could barely breathe; only a small amount of air was going in and out of her lungs, just enough to keep her alive. The spell! she realised angrily. The binder had spelled her.
“Are you alright?” asked the stranger, seeing something was wrong. “What's the matter? Oh, shit, the binder's put a spell on you!”
We'll see about that, thought Kate angrily, determined to break free. She couldn't close her eyes to concentrate, but she focused her gaze straight ahead and pushed out with her will, pushed against the magical bindings, feeling them strain and push back against her. She heard the word Profligo inside her head, which she repeated, not knowing where it came from, but mentally shouting it and using it to focus her will. The spell shattered and she was free.
She turned to the stranger. “Was that you?”
“Was what me?”
Kate shook her head. “Never mind.”
“How did you do that?” the girl asked in wonder. “How did you break the spell?”
“I'm not really sure.” Kate looked at her more closely. “You seem familiar. Do we know each other?”
“We've never met, no. I'm Rachel.”
“Kate.”
“Well, Kate, we need to take out these two tethers before they send us to la-la-land,” Rachel informed her, eyeing them uneasily. “Once they're gone, we can concentrate on the three stooges behind us.” She raised her palm and aimed it at the closest demon, a creature with a head that looked like road-kill. It vanished with a brief explosion of light. Kate aimed a burst at the remaining tether, but it just grinned at her with two parallel rows of shark-like teeth and blew a gust of wind that threw her backward and landed her on her arse.
“You need to do better than that, Kate,” Rachel told her as she clambered back onto her feet. “Like this,” she said, holding her right hand steady with her left. “Empty your mind, and let the power flow through you.”
Wary of burning herself out, Kate nevertheless followed her instructions, and was rewarded with a satisfying increase in output. The light from her palm was a richer, pale yellow colour, rather than a washed-out white. The tether she blasted went down hard.
“That's more like it,” said Rachel approvingly, emitting a quick burst to finish it off.
Kate grimaced at the sudden drain of energy. The only way to replenish it was by tapping into the motherlode, but even if she was able to, it would alert every nearby binder and demon to her presence. And every slayer too. Experience had taught her to avoid that at all costs.
The two tethers had already been replaced by four more. That was a total of 11 so far, which meant there were potentially another 15 to come. The witches were really serious about wanting her to go with them.
“These guys want you bad,” remarked Rachel. “What did you do to piss them off?”
“I've been asking myself that same question,” said Kate.
Merlin cried out suddenly and staggered for no apparent reason. Reaching behind his back, his hand came away covered in blood. The other witch was immediately on his guard, turning to face the unknown assailant and muttering incantations under his breath. The next second, a heavy-set man, clad all in black, flew upward through the air until he was a good 30 feet above street level. He hung there for several seconds, cursing loudly, before falling back to earth.
Kate gasped. “Oh my God!” she cried. “That poor man!” From where she was standing, she couldn't see where he landed, but she didn’t need to see him to know he was probably dead. Her healer’s instincts urged her to go to him, but she would have to go through the binders to get there.
“He was probably a Guardian,” said Rachel matter-of-factly. “They’re the only ones arrogant enough to attack two binders without back up.”
Kate didn't know who or what a Guardian was, and maybe the binder had only been defending himself, but it angered her to see how contemptuously they dealt with a human threat. How easily they killed.
She aimed another burst at a demon with wings and a mosquito-like proboscis. It coincided with an identical burst from Rachel and the tether vanished in a flash of brilliant yellow light. Rachel gave her a satisfied look that said they had the measure of them now. After expending so much energy, Kate was feeling light-headed and dizzy, but she gathered herself for another attack. She glanced at Rachel, hoping her weakening condition wasn't too obvious.
“Don't use so much of your own energy,” scolded the other girl. “Open yourself up to the vigra; that's what it’s for.”
“The what?”
Rachel gaped at Kate in astonishment. “The vigra, Kate. The natural energy of the cosmos. The exuded energy from the earth beneath us and every living thing on it; from the wind and the sun to all the stars and planets of the universe. It's God's gift to those of us fighting the Endless War. Its use is limited only by our imagination – and the amount our bodies can hold. Without vigra, the world
would have been overrun by Shadowkind millennia ago. It's waiting for you, Kate; let it fill you up.”
Ah, the motherlode, thought Kate. So that's what it's called. Vigra. Even as her senses began probing for this wonderful, unlimited source of energy, which she had only ever tapped into a few times in her life – always accidentally – her brain was racing ahead, figuring the consequences. Though if what Rachel implied was true, that it was used all the time by slayers to fight Shadowkind, then maybe she could get away with using it, at least this once. If only she could grasp it.
“I can't,” she muttered, uncomfortable with the admission. “Every time I try... Well, I just can't!”
“Just relax and try again,” said Rachel distractedly.
Kate's jumbled thoughts made it hard to concentrate, but she reached out again determinedly. Again, nothing happened. The power of the cosmos might be freely available at last, but she was as detached from it as ever.
“You're trying too hard,” said Rachel, sending a warning burst at a tether covered in weeping pustules, who had disappeared and re-apparated several metres closer while they were distracted. “Don't think so much, just relax and let it seep through your pores, like the warmth of the sun on your skin. In time, it will become as natural as breathing.”
“That's easy for you to say,” muttered Kate. Yet she did as Rachel suggested and let her instincts guide her, rather than letting her mind focus on the physical process. Gradually, she felt her awareness expand and her senses heighten. Her eyes opened wide as a dozen new sensations touched her body. A breath of air, too insignificant to be called a breeze, kissed her cheeks. A score of different scents, subtle and fleeting, assailed her olfactory nerve. The sprinkling rain seemed a little colder; the intermittent moon, a touch brighter. The club's music was quite distinct now, even through Istanbul's soundproofed walls. The taint of evil from nearby Shadowkind was almost too repulsive to bear.
The pustule covered tether was creeping forward again. Rachel said, “It's time to put this abomination out of its misery, once and for all.”
Kate nodded, adjusting her focus and drawing forth the power needed to banish it, hoping she still had strength to stand at the end of it. She gasped at the sudden rush of energy flooding her body, overwhelming her senses and sending her to a new level of consciousness. The feeling of so much power was intoxicating. It poured through her palm like the gush of water from a burst main, joining with Rachel's stream and annihilating the demon in an instant.
“That was incredible!” gushed Kate, completely re-energised and ready to take on an entire world of demons.
The remaining tethers were noticeably more hesitant now that Kate had found her groove. Merlin, too, seemed to be rethinking his strategy, although Red was as smug as ever. Muttering to himself, he raised one hand in Rachel's direction and lifted her off the ground, spun her upside down and flung her against the wall of the club. Pinned and helpless, her head was a foot off the ground, her palms pressed flat against the bricks. Her eyes were closed and Kate suspected the force of the impact had knocked her out.
“You bastard!” Kate screamed, once again fighting her instincts to render aid. She hated seeing the other girl so vulnerable, but if she didn't maintain her focus, the binders would get what they came for and all Rachel’s efforts would have been for nothing.
Taking a step forward, she raised her hands, ready to destroy every last one of the remaining tethers, and immediately ran into an invisible barrier. Something solid was blocking her path. “What have you done?” she cried, running her hands over the unseen surface, trying to determine the extent of the obstacle. She quickly discovered the barrier was all the way around her, enclosing her in a seemingly impenetrable box. Bashing it with her fists achieved nothing, though it felt good to give her rage an outlet.
“You left me with no choice,” said Red, his voice easily penetrating the thick walls of her magical prison.
Kate couldn't remember ever being so angry. How dare he trap her in a box like an animal! Fists clenched tight, she roared, “Profligo!” and vigra exploded out of her with the force of her fury, shattering the barrier and setting her free.
“You'll have to do better than,” she snarled at Red, her anger on a thin leash. A movement in her peripheral vision distracted her momentarily; a quick glance revealed a random woman, standing there watching them.
“Actually, I don't have to do anything,” he said, strolling to Rachel's side and stroking one of her rigid, denim-clad legs. “What are you going to do? Zion's light has no effect on me,” he taunted her. “Come quietly and your friend will go free. I swear it.”
“Why would I trust you?” she demanded, stalling for time. She glared at the other binder and the remaining tethers and they grinned back, certain she had no choice but to surrender. Think, McDermott, think! If she didn't give up, Red would hurt Rachel...though if she cooperated, he might still hurt her. And despite his protestations, he might very well hurt her too.
Weirdly, the random woman was still standing in the middle of the lane, apparently unfazed by all that was going on around her. Which made absolutely no sense, unless... Kate looked at her properly for the first time and realised there was something off about her, though she couldn't say exactly what it was. The stranger walked toward her, eyes locked onto her face. Then the smell hit her, a foul combination of sulphur and rotting meat. Repelled, Kate backed away.
“Don't be afraid,” said the woman with a knowing smile. Her eyes glowed like tiny red beacons, proof, if Kate needed it, that she was not as she seemed. “Come a little closer, Kate. I won't hurt you.”
Her words did nothing to erase the sense of wrongness about her, but Kate found herself taking a step forward anyway, against her will and definitely against her better judgment. And then another. The closer she got, the greater the sense of pure, unadulterated evil.
Rachel's voice called out to her, which was a relief, since she had been unconscious just moments before. Kate wished she could understand what she was saying. She knew it was important, but the message wasn't getting through. Something was interfering–
A warm hand touched her face and suddenly it was Marc's voice speaking to her, telling her he loved her and that everything would be alright. And just like that, everything was. Better than alright, because Marc was with her at long last, and there was no longer anything in their way, nothing to keep them apart. Everything was perfect...except she was growing weaker and weaker. Her eyelids drooped shut. Her head began spinning like before, when she used too much of her own energy. She was so confused...
Something was wrong. She shouldn't be feeling this way. She tried to brush the hand from her face, but she was weak as a baby. She should have known better than to believe Marc could be hers when she knew in her heart it was impossible.
The words were faint, but Kate had never been so glad to hear someone’s voice.
A Chthon! Father Peter told her about Chthons, but Kate had never come across one before. They were the pinnacle of demonic evolution, having started off as formless shadows like all the rest but been “lucky” enough to have latched onto a person of weak character and dubious morality. Over time, they evolved into tethers and then became something more, something far, far worse. After a lifetime of heinous depravity, their host eventually died (often murdered or executed for his or her crimes), but instead of being snuffed out as would normally occur, the demon survived in corporeal form, strong enough to live autonomously.
Kate had no idea how George knew she was dealing with a Chthon, and was too tired to care. Her advice was
good…obvious, really. If she had been less confused and overwhelmed, she would have thought of using vigra herself. But even knowing what she had to do, she wasn’t sure it helped. She was just so tired...
Ever so slowly, she raised her head and forced her eyes open.
The woman – the Chthon – stood in front of her with a smug smile on a pair of obscenely human lips. “There you are, little girl,” the demon murmured pleasantly. “This is this best part, watching the life fade from your eyes as I feed off you. It's one of the few real pleasures this abysmal world has to offer.”
Kate's senses were now her own again, which was a mixed blessing, but the Chthon seemed to want her fully aware when she sucked the last breath of life from her body.
Somewhere close by, Red's frantic voice called out, “You can’t kill her! You’ll doom us all! We need her alive!”
Without taking her eyes from her prey, the demon raised one hand, curled it into a fist and squeezed. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then Red's blood-curdling gasps reached Kate’s ears as the Chthon slowly strangled him. It went on and on, until the demon finally released its remote grip on the binder's throat. An eerie silence ensued.
A furtive movement caught Kate’s eye and she glanced toward it, surprised to see two men, armed with knives, watching from the side of the lane. One of them appeared to be wielding an honest-to-goodness sword. A third person, a black-clad girl in her twenties, was climbing out of a hole in the road. The closest man looked remarkably like Marc, but Kate knew by now that was just the Chthon playing mind games.
“Enjoy your last few moments on earth, human,” the Chthon murmured breathily in Kate's ear. “It’s a pity you were too stubborn to make peace with your Maker, now that judgment day is nigh.”