Skedaddle

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis narrowed his eyes at the creature trying to manhandle his brother. "I'm different," he said as his eyes bled to black. "Get away from him." He brought all the black energy he had into focus and murmured a curse. Dark power wrapped in ropelike swirls around him, attempting to enter his body through every pore and reduce him to a pile of smoldering dust.

Telanis took the moment to run to Laya and try to sort out whether she was hurt amidst all the other emotions pulsing in the room.

[Emora Deen]

Laya clutched at Telanis harder than she ever had before, turning her face into his body.

The vampire was affected by Adonis’s magic, so much so that he went for the dark unicorn, but before he ever reached him, he was brought to his knees by it. With a growl the demon lurched to his feet, and was gone, leaving just as quickly as he had come.

There was silence, and that’s what made Laya finally pull her face from Telanis. She looked up at him, and then gave him a loving kiss, a thank you for helping her.

“I’m sorry,” she told them. “I’m sorry I drug you into this. I didn’t know… and you shouldn't have attacked him! What if he had hurt you or killed you?”

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis held onto her too, because his legs didn't feel so steady now that the creature was gone. The fear of being hurt wasn't such an issue for him, but the realization of what would have happened if his attack had been successful was a little overwhelming. He'd never killed before, but he'd been absolutely prepared to do it just now. "He was going to hurt you," he said. "He wanted to hurt you. I've never felt anything that twisted before. There's no way I could leave you with him," Telanis said firmly, holding on to her because he wasn't ready to let her move outside his protection yet.

Adonis had followed the creature out into the hall and chased as far as the exit to the inn, just to be sure the creature really disappeared down the street. Pursuing it didn't appeal to him at the moment. His survival instincts wanted him to keep as much distance as possible between himself and that thing. He glared at the creature's disappearing back and made his way back up the stairs to his brother and Laya. "Is anyone hurt?" he asked as he reappeared in the doorway.

[Emora Deen]

Laya shook her head, pulling the ripped shoulder of her dress back over the sore mark on her arm. "I think we're fine... Are you?" she asked him. She moved towards the bed. Both her hands were knotted in Telanis's clothing, and she pulled him with her until she could sit. She didn't think standing was an option anymore.

Laya was in shock. She couldn't keep her thoughts straight, and she couldn't stop shaking. "What do I do?"

[Soran Nightblade]

"Stay where we can guard you, until you get that thing removed," Adonis said, gesturing crossly at her mark.

[Emora Deen]

Laya glanced to the mark, leaning back into the safety of Telanis's protective embrace. "I don't know if it can come off," she told him. "He carved it into my skin." If there was a way, she had a feeling Adonis could find it.

Everything had happened so fast she wasn't quite sure exactly what had taken place. "I'm endangering both of you. Especially if what he said was true... If Kron is alive..." She shuttered, clenching her eyes and pressing her face into Telanis's neck.

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis drew his arms closer around her. "We will find a remedy for the spell," he said beside her ear. "Adonis knows much about these things." It never occurred to him to intend the words cruelly. They were simply the truth. His eyes met Adonis's across the room, wondering if he could count on his brother's support after the falling out they'd had that morning.

Adonis's eyes were hardened, but he seemed aligned with his brother's conviction. "Get dressed. There's a lot to do." He went to his bag and dug out a coinpurse and some other supplies. Then he went to stand in the hall and left the two alone.

[Emora Deen]

Laya didn't want to leave the safety of Telanis's arms, but she knew she had too.

Laya moved to her bag and changed out of the nightgown and into a deep green dress with long sleeves. She pulled on he boots and her cloak that Adonis had used as a cover the night before. She tied her sack and finally, sitting back on her heals, let her eyes glance to Telanis.

"Thank you," she told him. "Again."

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis had used the time she was changing to make his way into a pair of pants and a black tunic shirt. He was in the process of fastening his belt when he paused to kneel in front of Laya and help her lace up her boots. He felt a compulsive need to attend to her at the moment. Not that his skills with fancy things like laces were terribly adept.

"I'm sorry...all this time, and I didn't even notice the mark. When it activated, it was so obvious I would have known of it even if it were covered," he said as he tied a knot at the top of the shoelace.

[Emora Deen]

Laya frowned. "I'm glad you never noticed it," she told him softly, touching his hands when he had finished tying the knot. "But, I guess there is no unnoticing it." She reached forward and finished buckling his belt for him.

She pulled him to his feet. "We need to go."

[Soran Nightblade]

Telanis walked alongside her as they left the room, staring watchfully along the hallway like he was preparing to defend from any angle. "I could at least try to purify it. We can't be sure it won't work unless we try," Telanis said.

[Emora Deen]

"That's true," Laya said as she walked just behind Adonis. "We haven't tried that." She reached out and took Telanis's hand, holding it tightly. "We should try that whenever we reach the place Adonis is taking us..." That was to say if he was leading them anywhere at all.

"My family's home isn't too far from here. It was willed to me, and is abandoned... We could go there?" she asked them softly.

[Soran Nightblade]

Adonis paused and looked back at them as he descended the stairs. "You should head there later. Right now, we have some things to do. Breakfast, then weapons, then research." He reached out his hand to her and dropped a heavy coin into her palm, then gestured at the baked goods the innkeeper's wife was selling on the first floor. "Meet me across the street." He left them both there as he made his way to the door and opened it to the bright daylight outside.

Telanis looked down at Laya's hand and over at the various breads and pastries being laid out. A group of sailors from the night before were lining up to buy breakfast. He turned his attention back to Laya. "Come with me a moment," he said, taking her hand and drawing her with him into a closet attached to the main lobby. He closed the door behind them, leaving them in a totally dark room full of random supplies. "If there's any chance at all that this will work, I want to do it now," he said softly in the quiet space. His fingers brushed her wrist in the dark and traced up her arm to the mark. Touching it was like a static shock. How had he never noticed before? He knelt on a box next to her and touched his forehead to the brand, very lightly. A white glow flooded the room as his powers awakened and poured into the old scar on her flesh.

His magic flowed easily, almost like it was being pulled from the other side, but all he got was a sense of slime creeping under his skin. Whatever did this was a pervasive type of evil that slipped between the weave of his focus. He couldn't make sense of it or gain control enough to remove it. He finally leaned back and looked up at her regretfully as the room faded back to darkness. "I'm sorry...I can't affect it," he said.

[Emora Deen]

Laya nodded, cupping her hand over his. "Thank you for trying," she told him softly. "I guess I figured as much. Since your magic won't work on Adonis, I suspected it might not work on that. I really appriciate it though." She kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around him. She was content to stay in the closet and hide just as they were. "I don't know if I am relieved or not that it wasn't Kron. I can't tell how I am feeling. I wish we could go back to this morning and stay that way."

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Okay... Breakfast. Yes, I suppose that could do us both some good."

[Soran Nightblade]

back to this morning.

Telanis felt a tug of restless heat inside him at her words, and the images they called up. He sucked in a quiet breath, baffled by the feeling. Didn't he normally receive this from her? Why would he think of it now?

"Breakfast is good," he confirmed, taking her hand as she opened the door and they returned to civilization. It was about ten minutes later when they stepped out into the sunlight with a bag full of bread and bagels. Adonis was just stepping out of the shop across the street, and he was holding a lot of stuff. He was holding several large boxes under his arm and a very long one across his shoulder. Telanis glanced at the shop sign, which was just a large painted image of a sword with the word "Tony's" in the middle.

"Ready?" Adonis demanded as they approached.