Chapter

Chapter 6

Kriss and Tabatha had popped some popcorn and were currently curled up on the sofa with the huge bowl sitting between them. They’d argued briefly on what to watch… Tabatha wanted an honest to god chick flick, while Kriss wanted a vampire marathon. After only a few minutes of disputes, they agreed on a popular paranormal movie series packed with action and romance pleasing both tastes.

“You know,” Tabatha said after a while, “I’m beginning to see why Kane and the others laugh when they watch movies like this.”

Kriss chuckled, “Kind of takes away all the fun… doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Tabatha exclaimed with a helpless expression on her face. “I used to love watching these and now… they’re almost stupid.” She emphasized her statement by making a frightened face and waving her arms out at her sides.

“Whoa, watch the popcorn,” Kriss grumbled and quickly snatched the bowl to save it from Tabatha’s ‘rampage’.

“What?” Tabatha demanded playfully. “Don’t want me to mess up your immaculate sofa?”

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to find popcorn kernels between sofa cushions?” Kriss demanded holding the popcorn bowl away from Tabatha’s reach.

“You don’t have cushions,” Tabatha pointed out with a bright smile and lunged for the bowl. “Your sofa is all one piece. Now give me that popcorn you neat freak.”

Kriss leapt off the couch and ran away from Tabatha refusing to release the popcorn. “Fear not,” Kriss whispered to the bowl, “I will save you from the clutches of Tabatha the Messy.”

“I shall have all of its buttery goodness,” Tabatha announced and pounced, this time managing to grab the edge of the popcorn bowl.

“NO!” Kriss yelled as the popcorn went flying all over the floor. “Look at what you’ve done,” he exclaimed and sent Tabatha a playful glare, “You shall pay!”

“So Kriss the Popcorn Avenger emerges,” Tabatha laughed as Kriss tackled her to the floor.

“I’ll show you what happens to those that attack helpless popcorn bowls,” Kriss growled. “First, I think some tickle torture would be a great start!”

Tabatha screamed when Kriss’ fingers descended on her ribs and she squirmed around trying to get him to stop. She had tears in her eyes when he finally stopped and let her catch her breath.

“I give up,” she managed to say between giggles.

“Good,” Kriss said with a smirk. “Your punishment is to help me clean up all of this poor frightened popcorn.”

He got off of Tabatha’s stomach and started to gather the larger pieces back into the bowl. Tabatha joined him making cute little remarks about the popcorn guru. They cleaned the biggest part of the mess before Kriss got up to go get the vacuum cleaner out of the closet.

Tabatha started bragging about her new enhanced speed and tried to bet Kriss that she could have it all cleaned up before he returned. Kriss shook his head and opened the closet door but froze when his sight tunneled.

His humor faded as the darkness inside the closet expanded outward surrounding him. Kriss leaned against the doorframe and realized it wasn’t smooth wood he felt against the skin of his bare arm… it was cold hard rock. His head began pounding and his whole body hurt, but he ignored it as he looked down the dark tunnel.

Kriss’ breathing sped up as he realized that none of this was really happening… or at least it hadn’t happened yet. He was having a premonition just like when he’d envisioned Chad’s death. Only this time… he was seeing it through the eyes of the one it could happen to.

He focused his gaze down the maze of dark tunnels feeling demons scattered throughout the black alcoves. The light flickered dimly with an electrical buzzing sound made by old faulty lighting but it was enough to illuminate the shallow puddle of water at his feet.

Kriss felt his heart break when he saw Dean’s reflection staring back up at him. It was immediately obvious that he’d been fighting. His clothing was torn in several places, leaving his shirt barely hanging on him. There was dark, dried blood on the corner of his mouth and eyebrow framing the claw mark across his cheek.

He felt his injured lip tug into a satisfied smile as he sensed the presence of a powerful demon close by… an original. Kriss moved toward that power but had to hold on to the wall just to steady his steps. He’d finally found a demon strong enough to kill him and he intended to take that demon along for the ride.

Kriss shivered when the premonition vanished and he suddenly remembered what Samuel had told them. There were demons out there more than capable of killing Fallen and Dean intended to challenge one knowing he wasn’t going to win... he didn’t want to win. He only wanted to drag the demon down with him. Was that why Dean had kissed him like that? Had he already decided that he wasn’t be coming back?

Tabatha rose from the floor with the popcorn bowl and held it up like a trophy. She started to tell Kriss that she’d won the bet by picking up all of the popcorn then frowned seeing how unnaturally still he was. She quickly set the bowl down on the table and took a step toward him only to stop when he turned and leaned back against the open door.

“Kriss,” she said softly then flinched because he did. Her lips parted when the shadow of wings bloomed into existence across the wall behind him and he glanced up at her. His eyes held a silver glow, but it was the tears streaming from them that took Tabatha’s breath and made her chest hurt. “What happened?”

“It’s Dean… something’s wrong,” Kriss whispered hoarsely and pushed away from the door. In quick determined strides he threw open the door and left the apartment.

“KRISS!” Tabatha yelled and took off after him.

She made it to the emergency stairway and rushed through it. Stopping for a moment, she listened and looked up when she heard Kriss open the door leading to the roof. Knowing there was a very good chance she’d just lost him, she ran up the stairs and emerged onto the roof just in time to see Kriss vanish over the edge of the skyscraper.

“Damn it,” she cried out running over to the edge and looking out at the city below. “What’s going on Kriss?” she whispered worriedly when she didn’t see him anywhere.

Taking out her cell phone, she tried calling Kane but sighed when her call went straight to voicemail. Putting the device back in her pocket she decided to go back to Love Bites. With any luck Kane would be there and she could get him to help her find Kriss.

Looking over the edge one more time to make sure… she backed away deciding the stairs were a much healthier way since she didn’t have wings. She was definitely going to have to get Kane to teach her that trick.

***** Alicia reluctantly pulled away from Damon’s kiss knowing that if she didn’t stop right now they’d never make it out the door. “Come on,” she smiled up at him, “you promised to let me train tonight and I don’t think we were talking about bedroom skills.”

“You’d rather spend the night fighting demons?” Damon questioned with a smirk catching the scent of her arousal.

“The faster and better I get at killing them means more time we can spend doing other more enjoyable things,” she winked and turned away, making it out of the bedroom before he caught her.

“The demons will still be there tomorrow,” he whispered in the shell of her ear. “If you want to fight then you can fight me.”

She leaned back in his arms with a sigh, “True, but you’re no fun to fight… you know how to make me give up and that’s not fair.”

Damon smirked, “I could quite possibly ignore your requests for mercy if that would make it more interesting.”

Alicia closed her eyes and almost gave in, “Like I said… no fair.”

Damon was about to start maneuvering them back into the bedroom when the front doors to the club opened and Tabatha strolled in.

“Have you seen Kane?” Tabatha quickly asked not feeling his presence in the building.

“Nope,” Alicia said as she wiggled trying to get out of Damon’s arms. “But I know where there’s an octopus if you’re interested.”

Tabatha cocked an eyebrow then smirked when Damon finally released her.

“Damon is taking me out to fight demons tonight.” Alicia said firmly then offered, “If we run into Kane I’ll tell him that you’re looking for him.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Tabatha smiled knowing she was about to put a damper on Damon’s parade… Kane was definitely rubbing off on her. “Instead of going out and looking for him all by myself, I’ll go with you guys and we can hunt Kane down and kill any demons we come across.”

Alicia’s face lit up, “YAY!”

Damon sighed and he buttoned his shirt up the rest of the way while Alicia literally skipped out the front door. He liked Tabatha well enough but the woman sure did know how to ruin his wet dream.

***** Kane searched for Michael not liking the fact that the blood link he had on his brother was getting weaker and weaker. If it was demons Michael was truly hunting then he wouldn’t have gone far because demons were all over this area as if something had summoned them.

He stopped for a moment when he felt a change in the air. Kane barely had time to wonder what Michael was up to when a spike of power blew across him like a strong wind. The force of it knocked over garbage cans and set off car alarms.

He frowned. It would take a pretty powerful demon to cause such a backlash of power and he hoped Michael hadn’t made the mistake of biting off more than he could chew… pun intended.

Kane actually stumbled when he felt the earth vibrate beneath his feet and cursed. Either Michael had managed to kill again in a very short span of time or he was at least in the middle of feeding off it. Heading in the direction the power had come from, Kane found Michael a few blocks away draining yet another demon.

He gritted his teeth as Michael finished with the demon and thoughtlessly tossed its remains into a large garbage can, leaving its legs sticking out. He never thought he’d say this about his neat freak of a brother but Michael had become a very messy eater.

Movement in the shadows caught his attention making Kane turn his head to get a better look. He raised an elegant eyebrow when he saw several soulless vampires skulking along the edge of the shadows and they appeared to be fascinated with what Michael was doing. One of the vampires glanced up and froze when it saw Kane perched on the roof of the house above them.

Kane glared watching the vampire motion to the others like a tattletale. He centered his concentration to read the thoughts of the vampires and was surprised when he realized they seemed to be thinking of the future and their survival… very deep thoughts for a soulless.

He frowned and looked at Michael who had continued walking down the street completely unaware that he had acquired a fan club.

These vampires were following Michael and looking at him as their new leader… someone who not only fed off humans but also fed off the demons that were at the moment terrorizing and or enslaving their kind. They wanted the security of a master who would protect them from their enemy and they had their sights set on Michael.

“Interesting,” Kane whispered and stood up to his full height.

He tilted his head to the side trying to decide if the soulless believed they were truly powerful enough to come out of hiding or if they thought their newly chosen master would protect them. If either was the case, then he would be more than happy to take advantage of the situation and kill them for their stupidity.

Without waiting to see what they would do next, Kane took a step off the edge of the building and descended to street level. He eyed the vampires wondering why they were not fleeing the presence of him or Michael. Surely they could tell that he and Michael were not one of them since they both still had a soul. But then again, soulless vampires tended to be a little on the stupid side, with Raven being only slightly smarter than the average bear.

“My brother has no interest in being your master and neither do I… though I do believe your creation, among other things, can probably be traced back to me,” Kane stated in a level voice as if he were giving a speech. “I hate to be thought of as someone who kills their own children but since technically you are already dead, I don’t think anyone will bother pointing fingers… do you?”

The soulless vampires hissed in response and Kane smirked glad they at least had the intelligence to understand a threat when they heard one. When he noticed one of them trying to retreat back into the shadows Kane was suddenly blocking its path.

“Eh eh,” Kane held one finger up like a mother scolding her wayward child. “It’s a little too late to turn back now.”

As per their usual pack mentality, they all surged forward to attack as a team. He almost smiled wondering if these vampires were the offspring of Raven or if they’d come out of the rift. It was so hard to tell anymore.

He winced when one of them latched sharp fangs into his upper arm and he quickly flung the offender off. Kane didn’t have time to feel the satisfaction of watching the creature’s body hit the hood of a car with a sickening crack. Balling up his fist, he punched another one on the chin, snapping his head back with so much force the vertebrae in its neck broke.

A long eerie wail broke through the otherwise quiet night and Kane glanced up in the direction it came from. He blinked in surprise when he saw a Banshee demon coming straight for him.

This was a new one… he hadn’t seen that specific brand of demon for a couple centuries. He rolled his eyes having yet something else to blame Misery and her rift opening spell on. Too bad the bitch hadn't been picky about what she’d let out of that hole of the damned.

Old legends surrounding Banshee said if you heard their wail you would be dead by morning. The truth was, it didn’t matter if you heard one or not… it was seeing one that normally meant you were in trouble.

They were vicious little creatures that looked like the cliché witch, with long unkempt hair framing very big eyes that bulged from their sockets. Their power was much like a wraith since they could drain the life right out of their victim… which was why the thing was picking on him and not the vampires who were little more than the walking dead.

Grabbing one of the vampires by the hair, Kane flung it at the Banshee. The two collided in midair before falling back to the ground where there was a flailing of arms and legs as they tried to disentangle from each other. The Banshee won when it ripped the vampire’s head off which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Kane punched his fist into the chests of the two closest vampires and took a step back as he ripped out their hearts. To his disbelief, two shadow demons slithered into the vampires he’d just killed and reanimated their bodies to continue the fight.

“Oh well that’s not playing very fair,” Kane grumbled at the sore losers.

This wasn’t good at all. Why the hell were the demons and soulless vampires working together? Of course it could just be that they had a common enemy… him, but he doubted it. It looked like following Michael tonight had opened up a huge can of worms.

A shadow flew overhead and Kane glanced up with a sigh. Okay… who the hell invited the flying demons?

“Need some help?”

The winged demon was suddenly on the ground when Damon dropped down on top of it, crushing its spine backwards with the impact.

“Help would be welcomed since my opponents seem to be cheating,” Kane said with a grin. His attention was taken when he heard a squishing sound and quickly turned back to the soulless vampires.

One of them now had a petite hand sticking out of its chest from behind and another fell with a twisted neck courtesy of Tabatha. Alicia pulled her hand out of the vampire’s body and kicked it away, watching with satisfaction as it fell face first onto the pavement.

“Good evening ladies,” Kane said with an elegant bow.

Damon glared at the remaining vampires and the Banshee. The vampires that had been possessed by shadow demons looked up and opened their mouths. Black glittering smoke rolled out from between their lips leaving the shell of the vampires to drop lifelessly to the ground. The other vampires took that as a sign and began to back away before suddenly vanishing into the shadows.

“That was… not as much fun as I thought it would be,” Kane said after a moment before turning to Damon and the girls. “What brings you out here to this dangerous corner of Demonville?”

“I just left Kriss’s place a little while ago and decided to come find you instead of going home alone,” Tabatha answered with a sweet smile. “Damon and Alicia were heading out for a little training so I joined them. What are you doing out here alone? I thought you were at Michael’s.”

Kane shrugged, “I was but decided to take a walk so Aurora and Skye could spend more time with Michael’s books.”

“Is Michael with them?” Alicia asked noticing the odd way Kane had said Michael’s books and not Michael.

“I’m not sure,” Kane answered and it was the truth. Since he’d stopped to take care of Michael’s potential fan club, he’d lost his wayward brother. Hearing Tabatha's scattered half thoughts he moved his gaze to hers, “Is everything okay?”

Tabatha sighed and frowned, “No… I don’t think so. Kriss was acting strange and he suddenly took off saying something was wrong with Dean. I’m worried, and since you have such a good relationship with Dean, I thought maybe you’d know if something was wrong with him.”

“Yes, I noticed something odd during dinner and even asked him about it, but Dean brushed me off claiming he was fine. There is a good possibility that he lied. I intend to find out the truth just as soon as we make sure Michael isn’t out wandering the streets without the same backup you guys just gave me,” Kane said playfully but couldn't have been more serious.

The last thing he wanted was for Damon to offer his assistance since there was a good chance he would just kill Michael instead of helping to fix the real problem.

Damon started to offer to help Kane find Michael but stilled when he heard Syn whispering to him that he would be summoned if he was needed.

He looked toward the horizon and nodded, “It’s very possible that Michael is at his home. Dawn is closing in and he’s probably getting ready for bed. Besides,” He gave Alicia a heated look and pulled her into his arms, “That’s what all good little vampires do. They go home at dawn and make love until the sun goes down again.”

“Hmm,” Alicia hummed deciding she’d had enough training for one night. “Now that sounds like a yummy plan.”

Before Tabatha and Kane could say anything more, Alicia and Damon vanished.

“I still think they’re part rabbit,” Tabatha said with wide eyes.

“Could be,” Kane nodded.

Tabatha suddenly turned on him and crossed her arms over her chest, “Okay, now that we’re alone fess up. Are Aurora and Skye really okay? And why isn’t Michael with them? I know something’s up because you weren’t home when I got there. Damon and Alicia aren’t the only two bunnies around here so what’s keeping you from our bed?”

“I’m out for a walk,” Kane reiterated trying like hell to evade the Michael part of the question.

“Kane please,” Tabatha said more gently. “Tell me what’s going on. You’re out here fighting a gang of… whatever this is,” she raised her arm and pointed in the direction of the bodies, “all by yourself when you know that you don’t have to be alone anymore.”

Kane stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. She was right. “I promise you love, I am well aware that I’m no longer alone. I was tracking Michael when I ran into this motley crew. The truth is, Michael isn’t feeling quite himself tonight and I’m trying to figure out the best way to help him.”

Tabatha nodded thoughtfully, “I can sympathize with that after the night I’ve had. Kriss was acting very strange… then he took off so fast that he didn’t even tell me what was wrong. All he said was something was wrong with Dean.”

Kane rubbed his hand over his face, mentally weighing who posed more of a danger and who was in the most danger. Tabatha had said that Kriss was out looking for Dean. If anyone could find a missing Fallen then it was another Fallen. It didn’t take him long to make up his mind. Holding his hand out beside him, he felt calmer the second Tabatha slid her hand into his.

“Let us go see if Michael has made it home. If he has, then we will both go in search of Dean and Kriss,” He compromised.

Tabatha smiled feeling some of the same calmness Kane was feeling. “Why sir, I do believe that is the prefect plan.”