Hola - sorry about the wait. I'm mid-AP testing, so there's not much time to write. ~Taborix
Skye's glare burnt his skin like scalding water. Rule number something out of too many to remember; when your boyfriend thinks you could be dead, your first move should be to let him know you are okay. He did not understand how Skye could expect him to remember that sort of thing when he was recovering from a gunshot and investigating the Hancocks, but there was no winning this argument. Loch almost regretted his ability to mentally communicate; it canceled out any excuse he could have made.
He decided to go for his next best option: change the subject. "So... you've mentioned that the war with the draconem is still a thing. I'm up for a battle."
Skye's eye twitched. He had finished his rant several minutes ago, but it was clear that pent up rage still remained. "We'll have to have a chat with Trinity, then. And yes, you have to come." A conversation with the pesky pixie in exchange for not telling Skye that he was safe. It was a fair trade, but Loch doubted it would end there.
It didn't. The only sound as he drove was the tap of raindrops hitting the windshield. Tap, tap, tap, each one louder and more judgmental than the last. Tap, you messed up, tap, you are meant to be alone, tap, you will have to talk to the pixie all the time now. Loch turned on the windshield wipers, but all they did was add their screech to the mix. Eeek, you cannot drown out the truth.
The café was packed, and a quick glance at Skye's face confirmed what Loch suspected. This was not normal. At least the curiosity would push away the anger. For now.
The crowd of voices hit his ears in a tidal wave when Skye opened the door. Everybody was talking at once, the same phrase repeated over and over. "There's a tear!" A tear in someone's clothing? If only. There was only one kind of tear they could be referring to; a world tear. And he had thought his life could not get more complicated.
The one benefit of the chaos was that nobody noticed him. Since Dixie had broken his forgetting spell, the Others had become wary of his presence. The fear brought the wonderful warm feeling of joy to his heart, but right now he could not afford to remind Skye of any more of his faults. Loch shoved his way through the frantic crowd until he spotted the manic pixie they had come to see.
"Where's the tear?"
She glanced up from her frantic texting and answered, "Can you fix it?"
At least in times of danger, she could get to the point. "Yes. No. Maybe. Most other cases have included multiple ancient warlocks, but we don't have that comfort. Where is it?"
"It's in a random little alleyway. I'll have to show you." She forced her way through the crowd, shouting over her shoulder as she moved. "There's a lot of demons pouring in. Big ones, small ones, humanoid and beast, you name it. The bad news is, we've had to divert a lot of our soldiers to combat them. The good news is, the draconem are fighting with us against them. This could end the war if we're lucky. But if you can't close it, that's not so lucky."
Once they made it outside, she began walking down the street at a ridiculously fast pace for someone of her stature. Loch jogged for a moment to catch up then pulled a crumpled paper out of his coat pocket. It smelled like coffee cup number ten. He reluctantly pushed the thought of blissful sleep away. "Just out of curiosity, is it near apartment building 72-650?" Skye plucked the paper out of his hand and squinted at it.
Trinity looked at her phone. "Yes, actually. Why?"
"That's where Vivian lives."
"Did you get this when you were captured?" Skye handed the paper back. His tone of voice had lost its edge, but Loch did not know how long the calm would last.
"Yes. I'm actually capable of being useful, you know. I snooped around the lab and looked through the computer files while I was there. Vivian basically runs the Hancock company, so they had her address in their records. I would like to think that getting shot in the head and still looking out for the Other species would be a valid reason to forget to let someone know I'm alright." As much as he did not want to get on Skye's nerves, he was not about to let him win the argument.
The pixie turned down an alleyway and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I know I'm interrupting something and I do want to know all the juicy details later, but why did you assume the tear would be near Vivian's residence?"
"She's been tossing High Demons back and forth between the worlds. That always causes some ripples, and too many ripples causes a tear." He had summoned a few hundred demons to terrorize an annoying kingdom a few hundred years ago, and the resulting tear had taken three ancient warlocks to fix. Loch had not been one of them; he had fled the area immediately to avoid taking the blame. He had covered his tracks so well that the Others now considered it possible for demons to spontaneously create a tear through mass effort.
Trinity squinted at her phone then into the darkness of the neverending alleyway. It was oddly long for a city alley, and the darkness did not match the time of day. Trinity started walking again, about to respond to Loch's insight when she ran into something with a thud.
Loch nearly started laughing, but then he saw her obstacle. Vivian stood before them in all of her rotting glory, one hand clasped around Trinity's small neck and the other tapping her chin. "Hmm... look what we have here. My least favorite species. Loch darling, you and your boyfriend are absolutely adorable. But, you should really stay out of my business if you're not going to be helpful." Then, without warning, she flickered out of existence once again.
Skye frantically grasped at the air, just a second too late. "Where did she go? Use your magic to track her. Do something!"
Loch examined his fingernails. "I'm not overly fond of that pixie. It wouldn't be too terrible if your kind had to hold another election, would it?" He smirked, but as soon as he saw Skye's eyes he realized he was joking with the wrong crowd. What a goody-two-shoes.
"Believe it or not, she's one of the best leaders we've had. Get her back. Now." Skye's normally melodic voice had turned into an inharmonious rumble.
Loch threw up his hands and continued walking in the direction Trinity had been heading. "My magic does not track, especially since she can block me. But we do have her address. I imagine that's a good place to start." Skye did not respond, but his furious footsteps were clearly audible behind him. Silence was a slight step up from his previous tone of voice, at least. Hopefully.
The strange darkness dissipated as soon as they set foot on the main street, forcing Loch to shield his eyes from the sun. They had nearly reached something exciting in that unnatural alley, but now he had to chase after his least favorite pixie. Great.
The apartment building was only a block away, but the brief walk was long enough for Skye to calm down. He even held the door open for Loch, though he would not look at him. Loch hated himself for caring. He began to rehearse his plan in his head as they ascended the staircase, focusing on that rather than Skye. It was a temporary fix, but it was a fix.
The creature's lair was an old abandoned apartment building, just like his, though in much better condition. Dust did not coat the floors like a carpet, and the staircase was not only complete but also shone with varnish. Loch began to wonder whether she had copied him, or all villains happened to think alike. It was a small comfort to know that his choice of housing could technically be villainous without upsetting Skye. All he had to do was keep Skye from making him move somewhere 'cozier.'
Skye seemed to have followed the same train of thought, as he finally broke his brooding silence with a comment about the building. "This place is like a fancier version of yours. No offence. Her taste in furniture is lacking, at least." He bounced up several steps at a time, waiting in between each one for Loch to catch up. He probably thought that Loch could see through the walls and know where Vivian was keeping Trinity. In reality, she had blocked Loch's inner eye from seeing her whereabouts just as he had blocked hers, but Loch did not feel like telling Skye.
His only guess was that Vivian preferred staying at the top floor just as he did, and he was about to see if it was true. Loch headed to the far left apartment door, always the left because it was a stereotypically evil direction and hand to use. If he was right about this, then he was predictable. Loch stopped and tuned his ears into the room beyond the door.
"- and then you will regret ever daring to block my path to greatness!" Loch bit his tongue to avoid snickering. Vivian was just as stereotypical as he was; she like playing with her prey before killing it. Though he had always killed quickly if he knew someone was chasing him. Perhaps she still thought he was on her side.
Trinity made no response, so Vivian must have placed a silencing spell on her. She would have never given up the chance to yell at someone in a normal setting. Vivian continued, "So, how do you want to die? Or even better, how do you want me to torture you until you die? I've been planning this for a long time, so I have ample suggestions for you to choose from."
Now that was unexpected. Trinity must have done something to Vivian a long time ago if she had been planning such an attack for a while. If it was something bad, Loch could even use it to ruin Trinity's life without Skye's judgement. He held up a finger for Skye to keep waiting, and continued listening.
"So, which one will it be? Demon spit? Oh, what a wonderful choice." The memory of bubbling, burning skin rushed to mind. It was a favorite torture method among many warlocks, though Loch had preferred tricking people into creating their own doom. That was the marvelous thing about making deals, and unfortunately it was his time to close this one.
Loch quietly opened the door and stepped into the room. Grand entrances were overrated. The room was lined with mirrors, creating hundreds more Trinitys and hundreds more Vivians to stare at him. They both appraised him with the same, judgmental squint. Trinity, however, was in no position to do so, with her arms bound to her body with barbed rope and her legs bound to a metal chair. She was in more of a position to be staring at the drop that was about to fall from the can of demon spit Vivian held above her. Loch quickly disposed of the dripping can of demon spit with a flick of his hand. Knowing her, Trinity would not even bother thanking him after this was over with.
He stepped closer to Vivian, adopting his favorite stance and a quick illusion to give himself some height. Even though he would not get any thanks from Trinity, he could at least have fun with his last chance at torturing someone. "So, we made a deal somewhat recently. Do you remember?"
The draconem-demon mix let her demon side show, her eyes filling with blackness like ink filling a jar. "You followed me. I was willing to let you continue to exist after my High Demon failed to kill you. I gave you the benefit of the doubt that you could possibly be better than the scum we coexist with. But this is going a bit too far." She was wonderfully oblivious to the danger she faced.
Loch smiled and filled his eyes with black to match hers. If she was going to be dramatic about this, then so was he. "I guess I have to repeat myself. Do. You. Remember. Our. Deal?"
Vivian nodded, taking a hesitant step backward. She was starting to get it. "Yeah. What about it?"
Loch paced the room, amusing himself briefly with the sight of hundreds of copies of himself doing the same thing in the mirrors. How strange it was that a creature as unsightly as Vivian would enjoy mirrors. Perhaps she had different beauty standards, beauty standards where rotting scales were an asset. "Well, you said that I could decide what your side of the deal would be whenever I felt like it. And now, I feel like it." Skye glared at him from the doorway, daring him to do something terrible.
Fortunately, Loch had rehearsed this before entering the room, so the deal would satisfy both him and Skye. Hopefully. "Your side of the deal requires that you do the following: first, you will destroy all of the Other-seeing goggles and glasses along with any blueprints relating to Other-seeing equipment of any kind. Then, you will bring all files relating to the Hancock organization to the police. You will urge them to shut the company down for spreading madness and for numerous kidnappings. Dixie will file a lawsuit against the company for using her research to cause hallucinations, the most common of which is imaginary demons, and you will admit to all charges brought against you in this lawsuit. When the police imprison you, you will not try to escape. Once you are released from prison, you will enter an Other prison where you will do anything that Trinity requests. Oh, and you will maintain a human appearance unless Trinity says to do otherwise..." He glanced at the pixie in question and remembered one last thing. "Also take off whatever spells you happen to have on Trinity. Anything to add, Skelly?"
Skye smiled for the first time since Loch had returned from the Other rescue mission. "That sounds about right."
"Then with that, Vivian, I close your end of the deal." He seized her hand and shook it before she could respond. Then, as if one of her demons had possessed her, she jolted in place. Her eyes glazed over, returning to their natural hue, and the directions burned into her mind walked her stiffly towards the door. Skye moved aside, his smile gone.
"You should have told her to go into our custody. The human police can't handle a creature like that." Trinity's piercing voice had returned, and Loch dearly wished he had forgotten to ask Vivian to remove the silence spell. "But it's no matter. We can deal with that later. The tear is still an issue, whether its cause is still present or not. So get me out of this binding." Loch did not move. "Now."
"Your tone of voice isn't very polite. Say it again, but nicely, and maybe I'll help." To his delight, Skye was too distracted by Vivian's sleepwalking gait as she made her way down the hall; Trinity had nobody to help her.
She took a deep, calming breath. "Would you kindly get me out of this binding?"
"That's better." Loch flicked his hand, and the binding unwound itself, slithering through the air like a snake until it hit the corner of the mirrored room. The mirrors cracked at the impact of the barbed rope, the crack rushing through the other reflections until they had broken into a thousand more. It created a beautifully chaotic effect.
Unfortunately, his audience did not appreciate his artwork. Trinity stormed out of the room, shoving Skye aside. It was an amusing sight, considering the two-foot height difference, then Loch saw the look on Skye's face.
He was terrified, and the fear was directed towards Loch.