Skedaddle

[Emora Deen]

Laya clenched her eyes shut, tears streaking down the side of her face. She turned her head away, feeling the sting of the knife cut against her neck. She was in the process of trying to place her mind somewhere else... as she often had tried to do with Kron.

"Unhand the woman," a voice said.

Laya's frightened eyes snapped open, and she looked up to the person who'd come through the door. Adonis... She never thought... She couldn't believe he was going to help her.

Laya wiggled her wrist in her attackers grasp, Adonis's presence bringing new will to her. Her other hand pushed against his shoulder, trying desperately to get him off of her.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Hold still! And you, don't move!" threatened the man, spilling more of her blood as she squirmed. Still, her struggling caused him to lean slightly off of her.

That wasn't good enough for Adonis. And if this man was who he thought he was, black magic wasn't going to have much effect in this situation. Burning the man into a black husk wasn't in the cards. So he was left with the old fashioned approach. He broke for Laya's assaulter and grabbed him by the collar, tugging him backward. The man flailed, swiping his knife out dangerously at Laya as he was dragged away from her.

[Emora Deen]

Laya cried out when the blade swipped across her skin. It cut open her neck, but not deep enough to slit her throat. She grabbed at the wound, pressing her hand to it as she dizzily rolled off the sick man the beast had threw her over. She hit her knees in the space between tables, panic filling her as she held her neck with both hands.

She wasn't sure how deep the cut was, only that her hand was getting covered in blood. She could still breath, still talk, she was fine. As long as Adonis won the fight...

[Soran Nightblade]

The man whirled angrily on Adonis, just as the unicorn's expression went pale. The overpowering scent of blood sent his head reeling, dizziness threatening to take over his senses. But there wasn't time to let that happen. A knife was flying toward him.

He caught the man's wrist with his hand, barely stopping the blade from slicing his face, and heaved his knee up into the man's stomach. Adonis wasted no time in twisting the knife out of the human's hand and launching himself forward to shove the man down to the ground. Adonis went down with him, lying across the man and putting the knife to his throat much the way he'd done to Laya.

"Look what you made me do," the man choked as he caught his breath. He glanced at Laya. "You made me cut this lovely lady." Glancing at Adonis a bit more closely, he muttered "Why aren't you sick?"

"Because...I'm stronger. Undo...what...you did," Adonis demanded breathlessly through the haze of blood.

[Emora Deen]

Laya narrowed her eyes on him. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. She didn't see why it would bother him if he cut her, since he was the one with the knife at her throat. She pulled her hand away to see it stained with her blood, and pressed it back against her flesh, cupping her neck.

"He did it?" Laya asked quickly, suddenly very worried. If he did it... what was stopping him from adding more and cursing Adonis and Telanis? What was stopping him from using black magic against her. She realized then, how terribly dangerous he was.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis glanced at Laya out of the corner of his field of vision. She was wounded. They were wasting valuable time. He looked down at the man he was pinning to the floor. "Undo what you did," he ordered.

The man just laughed like a crazy person. "It can't be undone. It's a matter of time, pal. Enjoy your time while you have it; the spell will take everyone here. Everyone but her."

"Why her?"

"I feel like keeping her."

Adonis shook his head to clear it and frowned at the man. "What do you mean, you can't undo it? Of course you can."

"Nope, one way," the man smiled.

The realization dawned on him slowly. This guy didn't even know what he'd done. He didn't understand the magic he'd used, didn't know how to control it. "Where is it?"

"What?"

"The thing that helped you do this, show it to me," Adonis growled.

"I don't think so," he laughed, throwing the disoriented unicorn sideways and pinning him down with a forearm to the throat. "I think I'd rather kill you the old fashioned way," he smirked, raising the knife coated in Laya's blood close to Adonis's eye. The unicorn stiffened, pupils shrinking to dots at the blood so close to his face. "Ah, finally scared, are you? Good!" the man laughed.

[Emora Deen]

Laya had torn a peice of her shirt and wrapped it around her neck while Adonis was trying to get information from her attacker. Her stomach twisted into knots when he mentioned she was alive because he wanted to keep her.

Then Adonis was on his back, and the man was threatening him with the knife.

Laya wasn't quite sure what she had done, but suddenly she was next to the man, her bloody hands wrapped around his arm and she was pulling. "No! Don't hurt him. Leave him alone!"

Adonis was the only one who knew what he had done and he was the only one who could stop it. He couldn't die, and even more he needed to be free to look for whatever way there was to end the sickness.

Her hands loosened so not to feel threatening. Her head reeled violently at what she was thinking of doing. "Please," she said softer, looking Adonis in the eyes. She knew that he could feel what she was feeling... but could he understand what she was thinking? And then she remembered that he could hear. If I must... I will distract him. Get away. Find whatever it is that he used. Save them. Laya's eyes drifted back to the menace, so her secretive look would not be caught.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis couldn't hear her thoughts, but he didn't miss the edge of fear in her eyes as she looked at him. What was she getting at? What was she trying to do? Why would she be protecting him at all? Something in her eyes made his stomach go cold.

The psycho looked at Laya slowly and grinned lasciviously. "Well, that's more like it," he smirked, raising his knife from adonis's face as he turned toward her. He took hold of her hand and guided her backward, back against a cabinet. He leaned forward and his lips grazed her neck.

[Emora Deen]

Laya leaned back agaisnt the cabinets, her heart thudding in her chest. She forced her eyes opened and forced herself to look at Adonis. "Go," she mouthed, her voice not able to actually say the words. She hoped he understood. She hoped he would hurry.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis's jaw slackened as he realized what she was trying to do. Why? What in the world? Watching the man press in on her and force himself against her turned his stomach. Something had to be done...something had to stop this horror happening in front of him, the assault of fear and corruption on his senses as he abused her.

"Get away from her," he snarled. Slowly sitting up, he picked up a medical knife from the table next to him and aimed to throw it at his neck.

The man looked over at him in amusement, and his eyes bled to black. "Make one move, and I'll curse her too," he cackled.

Adonis grimaced. The bastard had it on him. Whatever he was using as a power source, it was with him. Maybe in a pocket. But more importantly, a curse could be cast before the unicorn would be able to attack him.

He couldn't leave. Not with this happening. He thought it was probably physically impossible for him to ignore her torment now. That left only one real weapon to his name. His eyes, too, sank to an inky blackness, empty of all light. "I'm faster than you. Let her go." He didn't let himself think about the recoil his soul felt after the lives he'd taken in the village a few days ago.

[Emora Deen]

Laya didn't want Adonis to just sit there and watch. It made it worst for her to the point she felt possibly more ashamed than Kron had ever made her feel. Why didn't he just go?

She couldn't deny that she felt a sense of relief when he ordered her abuser to get away from her. But, how did Adonis expect to find whatever it was needed to stop him?

Adonis's eyes swam with a sea of black. She had seen his power before, when he killed a man on the beach when they first reached Ongoreth. Did he mean to kill this one too? She couldn't claim to be sorry about it, but what damage would that do to Adonis's already torn heart? She didn't want him worst off because of her.

"Adonis..." she whispered, not quite sure what to say. She was literally trapped in a bad situation. Adonis would use black magic to save her, and the man with his hands needfully on her would use it to save himself. She wanted to tell him to think of what Telanis would want... But in this situation, she wasn't quite sure.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis's black eyes flashed to Laya. As blank of light as they were, his expression seemed startled by her reaction. "Don't you dare worry about me," he hissed, blackness crawling into his voice, crawling over his soul like a cancer.

The man cackled hysterically at the black unicorn's reaction. "She's as useful to me alive as dead," he taunted, a dark must surrounding his hand as he reached out toward Laya's chest.

The unicorn's pulse jumped up in panic. Panic. Unable to think about it too much, he glared at the man and a pulse of black heat throbbed through the room. The man froze, gagging like he couldn't get enough air. Adonis slowly rose to his feet and walked up to him, reaching out toward the man's forehead, knowing he could reduce the man to curse and ash in a matter of moments once he touched him.

[Emora Deen]

Laya did want the man dead, but she didn't want Adonis to suffer because of it. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to pull Adonis away, but as afraid to touch him. She looked between the two, feeling helpless. What could she do?

And Laya realized why Adonis hadn't left. The man was using his powers now, which meant whatever Adonis was looking for was on his body somewhere. Laya saw the edge cord disappearing under her attackers shirt. She thought about magic and amulets and tallismans. She snatched at the cord around his neck, hoping that was the sourcce of his power. If she took his power, then Adonis would now no need to kill him. They could bind him and throw him in the cargo hold. Adonis could save what was left of his soul.

[Soran Nightblade]

As the cord snapped, the blackness left the man's eyes and was replaced by confusion. He took in the sight of the murderous figure in front of him, and the confusion grew into fear. He backed up against the wall, forgetting about Laya, and screamed. The accumulated fear smashed into Adonis's senses. "Get back! Stop! What the hell are you!" the man stammered, as if he had no idea where he was.

[Emora Deen]

Laya was just as confused as her attacker now. He acted like he was completely different. He acted as if he didn't know what he had done. She sat huddled on the floor near the cabinets, holding his amulet in her hands. She looked from it, to him, and then to Adonis.

"Adonis," she whispered, reaching out to tug on his pants leg. She meant to shake him from what trance that he too was falling into. "Adonis its fine. I'm okay."