by P. S. Power
With that though, she was about done for the day. She planned to take both the police and local fire station some goodies for Christmas, but not that day, since she didn't want that much attention from them at the moment. Showing up after the fire would be good enough. The plans for that got reviewed, and changed a bit, but there just wasn't a lot to do, until Eve got back.
It was kind of nice, she decided. Just sitting there and not being worried or bothered about anything. That didn't last long of course, since there was a sudden crash outside her house. A car accident by the sound, though it was a bit off. Instead of running out to see what was going on, since there was no crying or screaming in pain, she stood and started to pull energy from the world around her again. It was, most likely, just an accident.
That was what was most likely in any case.
The problem was that at least a few Greater Demons had already tried to set her up, bringing in Fram to make an attempt for her very being. That was, of course, a ruse the whole time. Oh, she had Fram locked up pretty well. That part was real enough and she was nearly certain that the Demon couldn't fake that kind of thing for long. No more than a few hours at any rate. That meant that there was a deeper plan involved. Something complex enough that someone thought she wouldn't get it, and might just fall right into their trap.
This, the sounds from outside, could very well be the bait.
Worse, Keeley didn't have a freaking clue what could be going on. She got that, in any normal situation she'd probably run right out to see if she could help. It would make her look good and cost her almost nothing, so why not? That would be foolish at the moment though. Unless whoever was setting her up, if they were at all at the moment, knew that and had something else in mind that she was just too young and foolish to work out in time?
She stepped onto the inroads with a thought. It was possible to fight from there and, she noticed, she was able to keep drawing energy. The flow of it even increased a bit, which was interesting to note. The amount she was able to absorb stayed the same the whole time, and the color of the light cast by the disruption in the fabric of the universe over her head turned silver to match the world around her, but it was stronger, none the less.
"OK, go slowly, and try not to seem like a baby." She moved on the line, but barely. A single step would take her a considerable distance after all. She needed to look just past her own door. It took care, but with a bit of focus, she saw what was happening. At least parts of it.
The car itself was alone and empty. It seemed to have been dropped from a great height, and as far as she could tell, no one was around at all. That wasn't exactly normal, because cars had drivers in general, so she searched her house too, looking for the trick. Whatever it was that the distraction had been supposed to set up for her.
She found it in her bedroom, warping space and time under her bed. The placement was clumsy and the effect very obvious, from the inroads. Keeley was willing to bet that it would have been very different if she'd simply walked into the place like a normal person though. Say later that night?
The basic idea was actually familiar enough to her. This was a complex spell, a thing woven out of precious metals and gems, and meant to trap her inside of it. A bit like the seven circles, which was a far more powerful, and well crafted Demon trap. This one was...
Shoddy. By comparison at least.
There were holes in the distortion that she could have simply walked out of for instance. Yes, it would have taken her some time to figure that out, but the five seconds it would take, even from the inside, hardly seemed like it would make the thing worth doing. As it was she could see how to turn it off without closing with it overly, even from the inroads. Well, almost. She needed to open a spot and reach a hand through to do it. That part was going to suck, she realized, and might be part of the overall plan to get her.
When she triggered the thing, closing it in on itself, it was going to trap her hand, or at least fingers in it. They'd be functionally severed then, cut off by the unreal space vanishing from existence suddenly. If she was ready for it and careful, it shouldn't be that bad, but it meant days of re-growing things. A stick or something like that wouldn't work at all though, since she had to add power to it in order for that to function. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to make it almost mandatory for her to do it herself. Or would have, if she didn't have a handy Fram around to do it for her.
"Fram, attend me please." She called from the inroad itself, which meant that a rather hurried looking Barb shaped form nearly ran past her. She stopped him with a grab and a smile. It was all in silver, but everything here was. That existing with just a hint of purple underneath.
She pointed to the whole thing and tried not to seem evil about it.
"I need you to set off that Demon trap for me. Make sure to kill off all the pain first and then get right to the kitchen and have yourself something to eat directly. Try not to lose more than a finger." Keeley wasn't that worried, but the Greater Demon next to her sighed and shook his head.
"So this is how it is? I'm here to set off the bombs, and traps for you? Walk across the mine field? I had such high hopes for our relationship too." He looked at the scene carefully though and didn't act immediately. It was smart, but if she'd told Elis to do the same thing it would have happened already. Fram was clearly acting in a very different, and much freer, manner in how he answered her commands. The line between them was pretty solid still though.
She smiled and patted the other Demon on the back.
"At times it will be this way. Try not to get killed. Take your time, and do it as carefully as possible." She thought that saying it that way might be a mistake, leaving the situation open to interpretation and lollygagging, but after what seemed to be half a minute, the man reached out carefully, created a tiny flow of power and a rift in the flow of the universe he could reach through. Then he caressed the side of the small circle of metal under her bed.
He lost a digit instantly, but didn't complain about it. It was his left hand index finger. There was no sound when it happened, and though there was blood, that stopped gushing after only a few seconds. Then he vanished altogether. Or, it wasn't exactly that, since the man that looked like Barb took a half step back, moving into the kitchen, and twisted to the left, letting him out of the line. Following orders. She hadn't told him to heal, but that probably wouldn't be needed unless Fram wanted to play games with his own well being. While a lot of people saw him as a bit of a joke, in Greater Demon circles at least, no one thought he was an idiot. Just too much involved in the idea that having status meant anything in particular to their kind.
It really didn't. That was so clear in the information that Tarsus had given her that Keeley knew that Fram was wasting his time even trying. He'd be better served just paying attention to his own life and doing whatever interested him at the moment. No one could tell him that of course, which was his personal insanity. Worse, he just couldn't see it.
That idea nearly caused her to stop paying attention for a bit, wondering if the same thing could be happening to her. After all, it wasn't like she'd know about it, if it was. That line of thinking wouldn't help her, she knew, so she waited and focused on the scene through the gap in the continuity of the line. Nothing happened at all. Not for a long time at any rate.
Finally, about half an hour later, on the inroad itself, a form appeared, walking toward her. Running, actually. It was a man, but not anyone she knew. Obviously a Greater Demon, or he wouldn't be there, looking at her like he was. It took a long while for him to reach her position, and when he did the being... turned and ran away.
"Now that's just annoying. You could at least stay and chat for a bit." Keeley let a smile come to her face, not meaning it, her emotions controlled totally, since the idea that some Greater Demon she didn't know was setting traps for her, in her own home, would have been terrifying if she let herself feel anything. Instead she tried to seem brave, and possibly a little aggressive, since someone, or
something, could still be watching her.
It was tempting to leave the line then, go and deal with her real world again, but there was a chance that the Demon would come back, having a plan that required the device be returned. It would be stupid though now that he knew she wasn't trapped in the thing, since there was at least a chance that Keeley could enslave the being, at least for a while. That seemed to be the deciding factor for him too, since no one came back at all. After about five hours she finally stepped into her own living room, because there were people there.
Eve sat on the sofa, sipping at a mug of something that smelled like hot chocolate, and Balthias sat on the floor, not too far away from her. Darla was in the kitchen, apparently having set Fram to making food for them all. How she'd gotten that done, Keeley wasn't certain.
After all, the Demon wasn't her slave, and didn't have to answer to her.
It was tempting to run to Eve first, to make certain everything had gone alright, but there was still the matter of the attack earlier. To that end she walked into the kitchen and started making herself a snack, since she didn't feel like waiting for whatever was in the oven to finish first. She got a loaf of bread from the cupboard and a large jar of peanut butter. That and a knife would work well enough to start with.
Darla brushed at her golden blonde, slightly curled hair and sighed.
"Fram told me that there was a bit of an issue earlier. You seem to be in one piece?" It was odd enough to get her attention, but after a few seconds Keeley understood what she meant. Her sister was actually trying to figure out if she was still her.
There were a thousand things that could have happened, being gone as long as she had been. Capture, brainwashing, replacement by another Demon. Of all of them, the first and the last were the ones that had the greatest likelihood.
"Fram, would you stand on one foot for a moment?" She didn't make it an order, but the Greater Demon did it anyway. He put his foot down after a bit without being told to, following the strict wording very closely. It wasn't enough to show anything though, since the Greater Demon could, and might actually still be, in on some kind of plan to get her. Even trapped as a slave, or pretending to be one, so it didn't mean anything.
Greater Demons were tricky that way, Keeley was starting to learn.
"Elis? Come here." That was an order and the Vampire ran to her at full speed. He stood in the doorway, his face looking a bit desperate for some reason. "How did things go?"
The Manthori grimaced, his red eyes shining a bit, looking almost like he was going to cry.
"It..." He looked away and then down at the floor, shame coming off of him. Why that was Keeley didn't know yet, but before she had to reach out mentally to read his mind, the words came. "I killed three, as commanded. Balthias destroyed one man utterly. Eve-" The pause was a lot longer than it should have been. In fact, he stopped talking, considering what he wanted to say carefully.
It was the kind of thing that could be done, unless she ordered it otherwise. He couldn't lie to her, but that didn't mean he had to say everything on his mind. For a second she wondered if Eve had failed, or had decided that one of the men could live or something. It wasn't that at all.
"The last man, her chosen target... He had children and was raping them. Not at that moment, but Balthias could tell that it was something that he was doing regularly. The mother knew about it. Eve killed them both. The problem there is that the two children, both girls, were in the house. They saw her. Bal was going to reveal himself to them so that no one would believe their story later, but Eve refused to allow it. She was seen." The Vampire steeled himself, clearly expecting her to freak out and hurt him. Instead she nodded gently and answered without any emotion at all.
"I understand. We'll take care of this. It sounds like you did your part well enough today Elis. If so, then the initial portion of your punishment is over." If not, well, that wasn't really possible. Punishing the Vampire was only about making her, and possibly Eve, feel better. Or at least letting the girl know that someone in the world was looking out for her now, even if that hadn't always been the case before.
She waved at him to go back to the other room.
It was a bit high handed seeming, but she meant it that way, so it worked. Elis wasn't just going to be out of the doghouse that easily. It was going to take time, and he'd pay for what he'd done for the rest of his existence, if only because he was hers now. That time could be a lot easier, and more interesting than it had been though. Maybe he'd get to watch television now, for instance? Possibly not. She'd leave that up to Eve and Rebekah.
Across the room, holding a piece of toast and chewing it thoughtfully, Darla regarded her with a slightly miffed expression.
"So, I suppose you want me to clean up this mess, and save Eve from going to prison for life?" She said it as if the girl wasn't hers to watch out for, if she wanted.
"Nope. I'd actually like to trade duties on that one. If you'll see what you can tell me about the trap under my bed and help me dispose of it safely, I'll handle the girls." There were a lot of ways to do that, but Keeley actually figured that a bit of coaching would probably work well enough. They were kids and if what she'd picked up from Elis was right, they didn't look very old. One was about eleven, the other fourteen.
Old enough that getting them into a good home with no sexual abuse might just be enough to get them not to remember things too clearly, for instance. If they were smart enough. That might not be the case though. After all, it was possible that they'd be blamed for it.
The words got a shrug and another bite of toasted bread for her sister, while she crammed nearly eight hundred calories into her own mouth in a few bites. Then she remembered to start drawing energy at the same time, which got Fram to stop what he was doing, and just stare at her. It was a bit rude, but she got the idea. She was a baby and too young for things like that.
Darla just smiled, but didn't explain it to the other Demon at all. It was his job to figure things out, not theirs to explain it all to him.
"We can do that, and divide the labor that way. Do I get to keep the device when I'm done?" It was a leading question, said with a casual air to it but Keeley shook her head.
"No. For one thing I don't think you'd really want it. The work isn't up to your standards at all. As for the components, well, there is some precious metal involved, and some gems... If you can dismantle the whole thing, we can sell those off, or if you want, you can buy it all from me. I'm open to renegotiation on the topic, but for now that isn't part of the situation." She wasn't trying to be stingy, but it was important not to let anyone take advantage of her either. Especially with Fram watching.
He'd be free someday, and the older and more complete she seemed now, power and maturity wise, the less ammunition he'd have to use against her when that happened. In theory at least.
"I'll be doing that then." Darla was very careful not to simply agree with her or do anything that might sound like she was making any kind of bargain or deal with Keeley. That made sense, but Fram noticed, and tried to hide it by checking the cake he had in the oven. His finger was already back, so it was clearly just a snack for later.
It smelled like chocolate.
Her sister didn't wait for confirmation as to the division of work and left the room, heading to the left, down the hallway to Keeley's bed chamber. After a few minutes of shoving food in her own face, and trying very hard to absorb energy from the world around her, doing a halfway decent job, she thought, Keeley got up and walked to the other room. But only after cleaning up after herself. Fram had been too, the whole time, which was nice of him. If they didn't Sherry would have a problem with it, but the space itself told you that. The odd thing was that the Demon actually seemed to care about not making waves it seemed.
That probably meant that he realized she wasn't really going to make him hurt too much and would eventually get him free of his slavery. It would pay for him to be her friend when that happened too after all.
> Eve looked pensive still, and the others didn't speak at all, though Bal watched her closely, almost as if waiting for her to crack and ask him to kill the girls for her. That was one way to fix things, of course, but probably not needed.
She smiled.
"So, I'm on little kid clean-up duty. I don't suppose that they're in this state? That might make it easier to get them a good place and protect them." She used that language on purpose, and Eve looked shocked to hear the words.
"We aren't just going to kill them? Or, you know, I don't have to go to prison? I shouldn't have let them see me. Or, after they did, I should have killed them both. I shot that woman. I could do it. I should have." There was a hardness to the words, a thing that Keeley had noticed before in her friend. She wasn't a psychopath or anything, but her life had taught her to be tough in some ways. She would have felt the deaths and regretted them later, but she could have pulled the trigger at the time, if she'd planned on it.
Giving her friend a dry look, she walked around the sofa and sat next to the dark haired girl. She looked sporty and thin, a slight bit of Hispanic ancestry making her seem exotic, but in a way the most would have just thought of as pretty. Her brown eyes looked scared though, underneath the strength she was projecting.
"Kill them? Maybe. Probably not though. It would look really suspicious now. I might have to grab a prosecutor or a judge though, which is a pain in the behind. Next time, try not to be seen. It will make my days easier." There was a lightness to the words, and Balthias nodded, as if it were only common sense.
When you go killing, it was best not to let anyone know it was you after all.
"Indeed. Do you wish for me to see to this Mistress of Souls? Or will you be taking the lives of those others and enslaving them?"
