The Hellhound's Mate

Chapter 96

"It's him. It's really him," Lydia murmured as she and Jackson stood by the mountain ash barrier under the grandstands and the mysterious hooded man that was setting the fires lowered his hood.

"It's him who?" Jackson asked.

"Adrian Harris," Lydia said.

"He kind of looks like our chemistry teacher," Jackson commented as he squinted his eyes in the dark, the man approaching them.

"I was your chemistry teacher, Jackson," Harris spat, armed with a gun in his hand. "You fucking imbecile."

And Harris fired.

Jackson fell to the ground, hurt but not gravely as Lydia held out her hands but no scream came out as Harris aimed the gun at her, scar tissue around his throat from being strangled by Jennifer now visible in the light.

"Do it. Scream, Lydia," Harris dared her. "Scream like a banshee. Oh. Oh, that's right. You haven't screamed in years, have you?"

"What do you want from us?" Lydia asked as she lowered her hands.

"Well, I don't want an apology, seeing as how you ruined my life, and you served me up as a human sacrifice to some demented druid."

"I was in London for all of that," Jackson groaned and Harris just shot him again.

"Come take a look, Lydia," Harris invited as he grabbed her arm and moved her into the light of the tunnel that led out into the stands, the game visible on the field. "This illusion has several layers. Here Lydia, let me show you one."

Her eyes were turning red as a tear slid down her cheek. "You want me to watch a lacrosse game?"

"No, no. I want you to watch your friends die. Come on. Take a look through the microscope."

And the scene changed as Lydia was given a glimpse of the 'other world' Derek and Chloe and everyone were trapped in along with the Oni.

Harris sent Lydia stumbling back towards Jackson as he held his gun up at her again. "I knew the Nogitsune was too chaotic to play this game on his own. He needed me to help him win. All I had to do was give him my pain. And thanks to you and Scott McCall, I have plenty."

"We all have pain," Jackson groaned, one of the bullets too far inside his stomach for him to properly dig it out on his own as his blood began to pool on the ground and his body tried to heal.

"But Lydia's pain is particularly appealing to a thousand-year-old demon," Harris smirked.

"My pain isn't anything to him," Lydia said.

"On the contrary, heartbreak is a veritable delicacy to the Nogitsune. So, give him a taste, Lydia," Harris ordered. "Tell us why you left Stiles. Give us your pain, " he said as he moved around her to press the barrel of his gun to Jackson's temple. "Or the next time, I shoot Jackson in the head."

"No," Jackson grunted. "Lydia, don't. Don't do it."

"I left," she said answered. "I left because of a dream."

"What happened in the dream?" Harris prompted.

"I was screaming," she answered as she stared off into space, almost as if she was watching it play out in front of her. "I was standing in front of the Nemeton. The stump was covered in blood. so much blood. All blood from the same person. I'm crawling towards it. I can taste salt water in my mouth, I'm crying. He did it to save me."

"Who was it? Who did the blood belong to?" Harris asked as more tears slid down Lydia's face.

"Stiles," she whimpered. "He gave himself up to protect me. From the Nogitsune," she cried just as she had that day in Argent's bunker when she realised that she'd loved Stiles all along. "He bit out Stiles' throat the same way he'd been bitten by Scott and Angie. He did it to save me and he's not moving. He's not breathing. He..."

"Lydia," Jackson called softly as his whole body trembled with pain. "It was just a dream."

"Until it happened again," Lydia said gravely. "And again. And again. It becomes this recurring dream until I can't tell anymore if it's a dream -"

"Or a premonition," Harris finished.

"If I wasn't with him, he wouldn't have to save me. If he stayed in D.C., he wouldn't have to die. And now that the Nogitsune is back..." She took a deep breath. "I made the right choice."

"And you wouldn't have to scream," Harris added and Lydia shook her head.

"Banshees don't scream. They wail."