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 Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:19 pm
Liam instinctively hid behind the giant meatshield of a Vavvian beside him.
"Yeah. Alright. We can go."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:45 pm
"Great," Ethan said, beckoning them outside. "They're mostly distracted right now, so if we can just sneak down the stairs we should be alright."
Herding the siblings out first, taking the time to gawk with his mouth open at the suddenly living Crow, Ethan fell into stride beside Liam.
"They're upping the search for you," he said. "Something about holding you responsible for something about some guy who had his head chopped off..."
---
Lenore snorted black blood and spit it out, still glaring.
"You're feeding me a bunch of s**t," she hissed.
"I don't even know what that is," it replied testily, looking towards the motel. "Look. This is really going to have to wait. Innocents to save and all that."
"Watch your tone!"
It made a distinct 'hmph!' noise and turned tail, running away before Lenore could stop it and racing into the complex.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:47 pm
"What? Who got his head chopped off?" Liam questioned cautiously. He honestly couldn't recall anything about decapitation.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:56 pm
Ethan made an uncomfortable noise.
"Something about this thing called Nahedathal," he said, looking at Liam. "Apparently wherever these things are from, he was in the middle of waging war...and he got killed. Only, it wasn't him, it was Julian. Got his head lopped off, shhhlkt!"
He drew a finger across his throat for extra effect, and shrugged. One hand fell to his side and he discreetly reached into intangibility, grasping the hilt of a knife.
"Tough luck," he added, voice sympathetic.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:59 pm
Liam blinked, suddenly horrified.
"Jeez, no kidding." He was suddenly more certain than ever that Ethan was not Ethan. When had he ever described someone's death like that?
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 7:08 pm
"Will you all shut up back there?" Julian hissed, halfway down the stairs. "If we make too much noise, they'll come running."
Ethan winced.
"Sorry, sorry..." he said. His grip on the knife grew tighter and he drew it out, keeping it hidden with ease. He looked at Liam and grinned. "Like they're all not eating the other people here anyway. But you know what I was thinking?"
He paused in his thought jumping gratefully off the rickety staircase and onto the cracked pavement again. Julian, turning to reprimand Ethan again for the noise, gave a cry of warning as two Hakin trundled from the shadows beneath the stairs and latched onto Liam's arms, dragging him back.
"I was thinking," Ethan continued, "that they're going to be taking their time with you. Like cutting off parts of you to see if you'll squeal, that kind of thing."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 7:12 pm
Liam writhed, giving a short yelp of surprise. Great. JUST ******** GREAT. Rabid whimpered and clung to Julian, and Björn looked back and forth between Liam and Ethan. Well, what was he supposed to do now?!
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 7:27 pm
The Hakin shrieked in triumph, hands latching on and fingers digging into Liam wherever they grasped. Crow roared and tried to run forward, but staggered back in surprise as she grasped at the hilt of a knife that hadn't sticking out of her shoulder a moment ago.
"No," Ethan said, drawing another knife from intangibility. "You're not interrupting."
Crow ripped the knife free and tried to charge Ethan, but Julian caught her and fought free of Rabid's grip, pushing Crow into her arms and shoving them both back.
"Nahenna," he hissed. Ethan smiled beatifically.
"Clever," he said, turning his back on them all as more Hakin prowled out into the open and surrounded them. "Can you hear him, Ehlkagir? Ethan's screaming."
Julian gave a roar that was suddenly cut off as a Hakin grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground, savaging his arm with its teeth. He gave a terrible cry of pain and fought the monster off, and its neck snapped like a dry twig. All around him he could see monsters charging, could hear Crow screaming...
...and suddenly something cloaked, masked and shrieking fell upon Liam and his captors, could hear Ethan cursing and the sound of metal on metal. Julian pushed the dead Hakin off, struggling up. He was immediately knocked down again, head cracking against the cement and leaving him dazed.
Crow, watching with her jaw hanging, looked on as the unexpected arrival proceeded to cut down every single Hakin, even the ones that were trying to flee. Behind it, Ethan, his arm broken and dangling at his side, gave a scream and rushed the creature. It cut him off and knocked him down with a roar, raising bone-clawed hands and its mask flying free. Crow's heart stopped.
"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH!"
Jeddeth, startled, looked 'round.
"A 'thank you' wouldn't be taken amiss," it said tartly, pinning Ethan to the ground and ready to tear his throat out.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:52 pm
"YOU! IT'S...YOU! YOU LOVELY CREATURE!" Rabid resisted the urge to run up and hug the frightening thing that had nearly killed her son...god...a year ago?
"Christ, I'd kiss you if you didn't have a gaping maw of horror."
Björn approached the...whatever-it-was easily, lifting it up by the chest with both hands, a foot thrust down on Ethan's chest not hard enough to crush him, but certainly hard enough to keep him down.
"Don't kill him. Don't care if he's possessed."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:01 pm
Suppressing a surprised yelp as it was lifted, hanging helpless, Jeddeth clicked its teeth in distress and wiggled a bit.
"This is most undignified," it muttered, pointing its head down as though looking at Ethan. The boy was screaming curses, gnashing his teeth and spitting.
Julian, sitting up and shaking his head to clear it, looked long and hard at the scene in front of him. Crow bolted to his side, glaring at the creature in loathing terror.
"Well," Julian mused. Crow hissed. Jeddeth swung its head around an almost perfect 360 degrees.
"Hello," it said.
"So. Um..."
"I found you! Aren't you glad to see me?"
"That kind of depends."
"On what?"
"What happened to the 'thee thy thou' s**t you used to spout?" Crow asked waspishly. Jeddeth shrugged.
"Is now the time for proper enunciation?"
Crow just sighed, and didn't even flinch as the sound of skittering and metal-shrieking voices sounded from all around the motel.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:03 pm
"Sorry."
And Björn put the thing down.
"That the thing that ate Ike. Or tried to. Hey, what's your name, scary thing?"
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:14 pm
"I do not eat things that are alive," Jeddeth said stiffly. "That is disgusting. I kill them first. And your son left scars deep enough that I will not try it again on him."
Julian clapped a hand to his forehead and muttered something about tact. Crow couldn't help but snort, though Jeddeth didn't notice. It bowed low, pressing its fist to what passed for its forehead respectfully.
"I am Jeddeth-ev-Akka. Pleased to make your acquaintance, now that I have not been ordered to kill you," it said. It "looked" at Liam then, sighing. "And I can hazard a guess at who you are. Provided we survive tonight, you and I are going to have something to discuss."
Crow, caught between looking at the still cursing Ethan and listening to the sounds of skittering growing closer, cleared her throat.
"Yeah, this is kinda cute'n all, but could we maybe move it outside the place where tons of things want to kill us?" she said. Jeddeth made a 'tsk' kind of noise.
"The fortress is surrounded. You cannot escape in the machine," it said.
"It's not a fortress," Crow said, anxiety making her snappish. "And by the way, what are we going to do with Ethan?"
Jeddeth shrugged again.
"Show kindness. You are strong enough," it said, looking at Björn. "You could snap his neck and show mercy quickest."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:18 pm
"Mm. Well, you were trying to kill us," Rabid nodded. Liam simply stared, swallowing hard. He suddenly felt like he was being sent tot eh principal's office.
Björn was pretty sure his heart had just snapped in half.
"Or I could snap yours and and forget all about it."
"Björn, he's got a point."
"Who are you to talk? Y'don't so much as look at me until you need somethin' done." The man looked down at Ethan, lookign either quite angry or quite sad. It was hard to tell.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:32 pm
Jeddeth seemed unfazed by the death threat, straightening its faded and torn robes almost primly. Ethan, still pinned, glared up at Björn with such hatred it made his face seem distorted.
"You've brought it upon yourselves," he said, his voice tight and not sounding at all like Ethan's. The accent had faded and his tone was harsh and loathing.
"Hold your tongue," Jeddeth said suddenly. Ethan gave a strangled laugh.
"You think they'll survive this?" he asked the creature. "You think they'll be shown mercy?"
He started laughing again, so much harder that he had to gasp for breath.
"He'll come, and he'll cut their throats and make them his," Ethan said, grinning fit to split his face. "And you," he added, staring at Crow, "He'll flay you and hang you from his door and laugh while you beg mercy!"
Crow staggered back a step, sickened as Ethan laughed so hard tears streamed from his eyes. The howling came again and diverted her attentions, almost to her relief.
"Jeddeth," Julian said. Jeddeth nodded.
"They will not be able to bear the light come daybreak," it said. "We will hide, and hold our ground, and in time the sun will kill them."
It dropped to all fours, looking over its bony shoulder at them as it plodded over the bodies.
"Come. These were only scouts. The war party has plenty to spare."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 5:34 pm
The group nodded and crowded around Jeddeth, ready to do whatever the little freak of nature suggested.
"And what do we do with little mister schizo?"
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