PART TWO
Alexander stumbled outside, covered in worms and
slime. He halted a few feet away from them, pulling out a crumpled pack
of Salem Black's from his back pocket, offering a silent prayer of
thanks that they weren't destroyed or slimy. He lit one up, inhaling
deeply.
"What's our current status?" He demanded, looking
at Jeff as the man came stumbling out of the workshop.
Jeff shook his head, looking like he was going to
both cry and hurl at the same time.
"What? What is it?" Alex demanded, not
appreciating being left out in the cold. "Where's Ember and Matt?"
Jeff pointed at the air.
Frowning, Alex looked to where Jeff was pointing,
finding nothing, a scowl forming on his face. He WASN'T in the mood for
Jeff's pranks. Alex was about to rip Jeff a new asshole when he seen
what Jeff had been gesturing at.
A pair of eyes.
Eyes, no head, no body. Just eyes.
Ember's eyes.
"SHIT!" Alex cursed, wondering what the Hell was
going on. He had seen the freaking
Boogeyman dissolve into nothing but a heap of
slimy, nasty worms. Then he had proceeded to squash those little fuckers
into an oozing paste.
Matt lumbered around to them, still in werewolf
form, looking panicked as his great head swung from side to side,
finally spotting Ember's eyes. He tossed his head back and let out an
ear-piercing howl.
"THAT AIN'T HELPING!" Alex snapped.
"ALEXANDER!"
He shoved past Jeff and into the building at
Ashley's scream of pain, halting at what he seen.
Ashley was laying in the center of a pentagram,
her arms bound crudely over her head. The reason for that was obvious,
there was long bloody gashes covering her stomach.
Her stomach.
Alex could see why Jeff looked nauseous. Whatever
was in her, the… baby, was struggling to get out. And not in the
conventional way either. It was coming up and out, tearing her apart
from the inside out.
Ashley stared at him wide eyed, struggling
against the pain. "Alex, please, stop it! Don't let it out!" She
pleaded, letting out another agonizing scream.
He dropped to his knees besides her, knowing he
had been too late. Too late for everything. He had destroyed the
Boogeyman but it hadn't changed anything. The transformations had been
too far along. He had failed them all.
"Please… don't let it be born." She whispered,
staring in his eyes. "Promise me."
Alex could only nod.
***
Matt watched as Ember's eyes started fading,
panicking, feeling weak because there was nothing he could do to stop
this. "What do I do?" He growled in a whisper, his voice conveying the
anguish he felt.
Jeff was pacing a ditch in the dirt, hearing the
pain in his brother's voice and sighed heavily, raking a hand through
his hair. "You really do love her, don't you?"
Matt could only nod.
Jeff gritted his teeth, determination springing
into his eyes. "Then let's see what we can do to stop all this. I'm NOT
living with a moping werewolf!"
***
Alex's head shot up when he heard chanting,
cocking his head to the side. He quickly placed it as Jeff, wondering
what the kid was up to now only for a brief second. His focus returned
to Ashley.
Ashley was coated in sweat, breathing heavily,
moaning and shuddering with the pain. Her gray-blue eyes were filmed
over, dulling the once vibrant orbs. She now held Alex's hand since he
had undid her binds, squeezing with her pain that coursed through her.
"Ash… I don't know what to do." He whispered,
reaching out to stroke her damp hair.
"Stay with me."
Alexander nodded, his black eyes widening when
the little Demon inside of her started moving violently.
Ashley began to scream, wrenching, her body
contorting with pain. "ALEX!" She shrieked, trying to push the monster
down, smoke rising off of her great belly. "ALEX, IT'S BURNING ME!"
Alex could only watch as her skin bubbled, the
smoke bellowing forth. The little bastard spawn was flaming it's way
out.
"Alex, please, kill it!" She begged, staring at
him wildly. "Kill me! You can't let it-" She gasped, the air leaving
her, body stiffening.
He could now see her skin burning away, knowing
either way she would die from this. For the second time that day,
Alexander silently cried, great fat tears rolling down his cheeks.
***
"Oh SNAP!" Jeff shrieked when he seen the worms.
Big, fat, slimy nasty worms. A mountain of worms, and they were…
rolling… towards him. Not inching, not creeping, rolling. Like a giant
ball. A wave of nausea washed over him but he swallowed down the bile.
Matt assumed a fighting stance, baring his fangs,
growling dangerously, claws up and ready to attack.
The one iris that remained of Ember blinked.
Jeff's green eyes narrowed, bound and determined
to make one last stand, even if he did die here. He raised up his hands,
a ball of bluish purple energy crackling between his palms.
Focusing, he directed his own personal energy
into the ball, feeling it grow. He remembered a lesson Ember had taught
him, use Nature's energies, conserve your own and grunted, hurling the
ball at the Demon.
For one brief second, it seemed his attack had
worked. The mountain of worms halted in their rolling.
Then they dropped to the ground with a great wet,
plopping sound.
Out of the scattered bugs the Boogeyman formed,
the worms all connecting together, his make-up. He was the worms.
"OH SNAP!" Jeff echoed, all but wetting his
pants.
Matt growled dangerously, taking a threatening
step forward, ready to strike.
The Boogeyman merely looked at Matt like he was
something interesting, his great eyes sweeping over the Lycanthrope then
onto the Warlock.
Jeff was shaking in his tennies.
***
Ashley was taking her last breaths. She looked
calmer now, the unwanted babe lay dead, wrapped in rags off to the side.
She hadn't even looked at it.
Alexander had. The 'baby' had been a black, slimy
thing covered in iridescent scales. It had opened his eyes, one eye was
a light blue, almost white color, the other a dark blue. The spawn had
indeed been of Kane's loins.
Emphasis on had.
"Ashley, I'm sorry." Alex whispered, caressing
the back of her hand. "I let you down."
Ashley feebly shook her head, trying to say
something but couldn't work up the energy.
Alex didn't want her to speak. He didn't want her
to waste her precious energy on him, he didn't want to hear her tell him
it wasn't his fault.
It was his fault.
Alex should have never brought her with him. He
should've left her after he had killed Kane.
Kane…
Kane. That was it!
He could have killed his own damned fool self.
That was the SECOND time he had forgotten the rule.
"Alex, I-" Ashley gasped, her eyes widening, her
grip on his hand tightening.
Almost instinctively, Alexander knew what she was
trying to say. His eyes crinkled, his lips curving into a smile, a smile
just for her. "I love you too, Ashley."
The look of happiness and love radiating from her
eyes and face didn't diminish even after she had finally succumbed to
death.
He wanted to grieve. He wanted to curse the
unfairness of this. First his sister and now Ashley, his finally
acknowledged love.
But there was no time.
Time stood still for no man and Alexander
Blackheart was no exception.
Shoving aside his grief, Alex headed outside,
relieved to find his cousin wasn't gone yet.
True, she was only a literal eyelash away from
nothingness.
He took quick inventory of the situation. Matt
was going toe to toe with the Boogeyman and so far holding his own. Jeff
was still busy chanting, a ball of purple light growing between his
outstretched palms.
Alex took aim at the fighting Demon, cursing when
he couldn't get a clean shot. Sighing heavily, he worked his way to
Jeff.
Jeff didn't open his eyes, though he visibly
flinched, obviously expecting the worse.
"Can you use your personal energy the way Ember
does?"
Jeff just nodded, busy yet chanting.
"Good. I need a bird, a BIG bird."
Matt wasn't having an easy time with the
Boogeyman. He was holding his own, keeping himself for the most part out
of harm's way. But so was the Demon.
Growling, he lunged forward again, grunting in
pain when the Demon clocked him upside the head with it's staff.
"Matt, go for it's heart!" Alex ordered, now
tossing himself into the melee.
Nodding, Matt lunged again, this time with a
purpose.
***
It was with great relief that Ember looked down
and found her torso and legs. She said a silent prayer of thanks to Isis
before looking around.
Alexander and Jeff were watching a robin the size
of a Great Dane go to work on the wormy remains of the Boogeyman.
Ember didn't bother asking how it was done, she
just looked around for Matt.
She found him leaning against the house in the
shadows, looking wet and miserable, the rain having soaked them all
clear through. He was in the process of shifting back to his normal
state.
Matt stretched his jaw, looking down at himself.
Where the Boogeyman had clawed him as a werewolf now showed quite
clearly on his bare chest, his legs encased in the tattered remains of
his jeans, barely.
"That'll need tending too." Ember said softly,
reaching out to race the edge of an angry looking gash.
Matt just nodded, staring at her, as if
reassuring himself she was all there. Finally, after a moment, he pulled
her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.
They weren't allowed their moment for long
though, Jeff appeared, clearing his throat reluctantly. When the pair
faced him, he swallowed hard, saying only one word.
Part Three
Alexander sighed, inhaling deeply off his ever
present cigarette. He stared down at the fresh mound of dirt, a simple
tombstone at the head, bearing only a name: ASHLEY.
Matt and Ember stood off a ways from him, Matt
looking somber, his mouth a thinly compressed line. Ember was crying
softly.
Jeff was sitting besides the mound, staring at it
blankly. Now that the battle was over, the adrenaline gone, he had
slipped into silence. Shock.
It had been two days since the battle, since…
since Alex had all but taken Ashley's precious life.
He had. Not all but, he did it. He had forgotten
the very thing that had almost been the cause of Ashley's death before.
Demons have to be balanced, their deaths weren't permanent. They could
be kept in their 'dead' state only if their was something there to
counter it.
In the Boogeyman's case, he wasn't coming back.
Kane, he was gone, his ashes had been poured into
an ocean, not likely he'd be making a return appearance.
Ashley… she was mortal. Had been mortal. There
was no bringing her back. Ever.
If only he, Alex quickly stopped that train of
thought. Ifs weren't going to bring her back. Ifs would do nothing for
him. He felt bad enough, there weren't words to describe the feeling.
The closest he could get was identifying the pain
to a million shards of scorching hot yet icy cold glass stabbing his
heart viciously, relentlessly.
That wasn't adequate either but it was the only
he could liken the pain too at the moment.
Alex finished his cigarette, using the last hit
to light another one. From dawn till dusk, he chain smoked. He lived on
Mountain Dew, not eating a damn thing. Nobody said a word, no one else
was eating much either.
He crouched down, reaching out to place his palm
on the earth, as if somehow expecting Ashley to reach up and take his
hand, assure him, something.
He didn't know.
He couldn't cry either.
He had spent all his tears.
He had cried twice that day. Once for his twin,
the second for his love.
Alexander Blackheart never cried.
***
Ember stared morosely around the kitchen. She
didn't know why she was in here, it didn't have a purpose anymore.
Besides a place to sit.
She hated her house. Hated it. It had been a
place of great warmth and happiness, but now… everywhere she looked, she
seen trails of slime. The house was spotless, nothing cleaning forty
eight hours straight hadn't fixed.
She had cleaned, top to bottom, two days without
stopping, needing something to focus her mind on so she didn't go crazy.
But she could still see the trails where the
Boogeyman had been, the last fading bit of his aura. If it could be
called that.
This wasn't her home anymore.
She sighed, smoking one of Alex's cigarettes and
leaned against the counter, a mug of bitter coffee besides her. Alex
hadn't said a single word since he had carried Ashley's body out of her
workshop and that had been two weeks ago.
Now all he did was sit at Ashley's tombstone,
leaning against it, smoking and staring off at something nobody but him
could see.
Jeff, he had fallen into silence too. Silence and
silent tears, his world shattered. Ember felt for him, he had known
about the evils out there, but it was obvious he hadn't known how
horrible it could be. Matt had revealed to her this was the first Demon
for Jeff, the first death.
She wondered if Jeff would ever recover. He had
gone into a state of shock it seemed. He moved mechanically, eating
whatever Matt coaxed him with, sitting where you put him because if left
to his own devices, Jeff would automatically wander off.
Matt… the death of Ashley, the way it happened
had affected him just as deeply as it had everyone else though he seemed
to push aside his grief for the others. With Alex, the obvious leader,
mourning, someone had to pick up the slack.
Her thoughts strayed back to Alex. She knew he
blamed himself for Ashley's death. She had heard him talking in his
sleep one night, crying out about forgetting. She had somehow known what
he had forgotten. She tried talking to him, assuring her cousin nobody
blamed him. It was easy to forget things in the heat of battle.
Alex had merely looked at her like she was
something relatively interesting.
Ember rubbed the heel of her hand against her
forehead. She herself had prepared Ashley's body for the burial. She had
washed her in the springs, anointed her with precious oils, dressed her,
the whole nine yards. She hadn't known Ashley's religious beliefs so
Ember had buried her according to her own.
Hopefully, Ashley's second life would be much
better then this one had been.
***
Alexander blinked, suddenly looking around him.
He stood up, brushing dirt off his pants and started for the house. He
had spent two weeks here, at her grave, mourning. He knew he couldn't
mourn anymore. Ashley would live on in his memory and heart.
He still had the matter of the Undertaker to
contend with and he fully intended on making the son of a bitch suffer
for this. First 'Taker had taken his sister, now Ashley.
Though, concerning Alexandra, he had called the
hospital and was informed there had been no change at all in her
condition. Apparently killing her before the Boogeyman was at full
strength had been a good thing. Too bad he couldn't say the same for…
Alex KNEW it had been the Undertaker who had
unleashed the Boogeyman on them.
Paybacks were a bitch.
***
Alex stepped into the kitchen, cocking an eyebrow
when he seen his cousin smoking. Ember never smoked. He stepped to her,
plucking away the cigarette. "These will kill you."
She stared at him, looking incredulous.
Alex winked at her, taking a long drag before
stubbing it out in the sink. He then pulled her into a hug.
Ember held him tight, tears streaming down her
cheek.
When they parted, he spotted the red ribbon still
around her throat. "Em?" He gently pulled it away, frowning at the fresh
wounds.
Ember flushed, putting it back on. "Don't ask."
"Matt?"
"Let's just say he's evolving."
Alex nodded, storing that information away for a
later time. "How's the kid?"
"Not good Alex, not good at all." Ember twisted
her hair up onto the back of her head, frowning. "Come on."
He followed her to the library where Jeff was
sitting in a high backed chair, a book open on his lap though he wasn't
looking at it. He was staring at the ceiling.
Alex crouched down before Jeff, waving a hand in
front of his face. "Jeff? Jeff, can you hear me?"
Jeff lowered his gaze to Alex, blinking once.
"Shock." Alex said, straightening up. He reached
out to tousle Jeff's hair in a rare display of affection. "How long?"
"Since the funeral."
"I'll take care of it."
***
Matt frowned when he heard a vehicle come to a
halt in the driveway and stepped out onto the front porch, his yellow
ringed eyes zooming in the truck.
A man in a white cowboy hat was stepping down,
his boots gleaming. He wore a pair of jeans and a black beater, his
shoulder length brown hair hanging loose around his shoulders.
Before Matt could say or do anything, Alex
stepped out onto the porch, his black eyes crinkling.
"Well well, if it ain't Alexander Blackheart."
The man drawled.
"And if it isn't Shawn fucking Michaels." Alex
replied, a hint of a grin on his face.
Shawn smirked, tilting his hat back some,
revealing a brown, somewhat weathered face. "You called so now here I
am, son. What does the one and only Mister Blackheart need?"
He had come because of curiosity.
Shawn and Alex went back to right after Alex had
started on his quest, well, more like right after Alex's first mentor
had been ran over. Shawn had been Demon hunting in the Midwest, saved
Alex's ass and took over as mentor.
Alexander had learned quick.
Shawn had turned the kid loose, knowing he'd do
just fine. Though when Alex had called,
Shawn was wondering what the Hell the kid had
gotten himself into now.
Ember appeared next, her hand in Jeff's, guiding
him, a bag over her shoulder.
Shawn took in the woman and the kid, catching the
blank look in the boy's eyes and nodded, instantly knowing what he was
needed for. "What happened?" He asked Alex, taking the bag from the
woman.
"Shock. We just battled a Demon from the higher
hierarchy apparently. One… of the group…"
Shawn just nodded, catching the way Alex's tone
had changed mid-sentence. "I'll take care of him. This way, son." He led
Jeff to the passenger side of the truck. After Jeff was settled in,
Shawn walked over to shake Alex's hand, glancing at the other two.
"Witch and a Lycanthrope, should I ask?"
"The Witch is my cousin, Ember. The wolf is
Matt."
Shawn studied Matt with open curiosity.
"Normally, I'd shoot you on sight since it's becoming damn hard to
change the curse, but since you're with Alex, I'm guessing you're
different."
"You could say that." Matt replied dryly,
glancing at Ember.
"How do you contain him?"
Ember answered this one. "A binding spell."
Shawn nodded. "Smarter then the average spell
caster, good, good. All right Alex, I brought you some new toys, help me
unload them."
Alex left Em and Matt on the porch, following
Shawn around to the back of the truck.
"Nice." He said, surveying the 'toys'.
"I figured you'd still be on your foolhardy
mission to plant your foot up the Deadman's ass still so…" Shawn
shrugged, setting a black crate on the grass. "Holy water; silver
draggers,
darts, bullets and stakes; some blessed vials for
holding… things."
Alex nodded, these things were basic items.
"Then we got some special stuff…" Shawn pulled
out a silver cigarette case, opened it to reveal cigarettes. "They're
laced with a special poison, for vampires." He explained. "You smoke one
of these suckers and you're dead too, remember that. Demons, won't
affect them."
"'Taker?"
"No clue, he's not your average, run of the mill
vamp."
"Any word on him?" Alex asked, rifling through
the rest of the things, cocking an eyebrow when he seen a sawed off
shotgun, holding it up.
"None, he's still holed up in Texas as far as
anyone knows, things have been silent on the vampire front. Occasionally
a Hunter runs across a few but none of them know much, they're nothing
but vampire foundlings." Shawn looked a bit disturbed, finally snatching
the gun from Alex. "Loaded with a special cartridge my friend, try not
to waste them as you only got one box of shells for this baby."
"What's it do?"
"Once again for Vampires, since they're all
pretty much the same. Shoot, the bullet lodges itself in them and
explodes as soon as it's in."
"What happens if the bullet goes clean through?"
"It won't, trust me." Shawn glanced at the sky.
"There's more and I'm sure you'll figure out what to do with it, I got
to be getting along."
"Busy?"
"Hunting a Hag, believe it or not. We crossed
paths bout a month ago, she wasn't a very nice broad… let's leave it at
that."
"And Jeff?"
"Don't you worry about the boy, he's in good
hands."
Alex nodded, glancing at Jeff. "I know he is,
thanks Shawn."
"No problem Alex. You take care, son." Shawn
shook Alex's hand firmly, holding on for a minute. "He knows your coming
Alexander, he knows and he'll be looking to stop you."
Alex smiled grimly, his hair falling over his
eyes. "Satan himself couldn't stop me."
"Let's just hope those aren't your famous last
words."
Alexander watched as Ember locked the front door.
He figured she'd never come back here, not after everything that had
happened and didn't honestly blame her. He sighed, watching as she
slipped into the jeep with Matt, their bags in the back and slid in his
own corvette.
He pulled out of the driveway, knowing they were
right behind him and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, a Salem dangling
from his lower lip.
He hadn't been joking with Shawn. Old Scratch
couldn't stop him, come Hell or high water, he was going to kill the
Undertaker.
