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Stray bared her blood teeth back at him, eyes going from burgundy straight to pitch black. She felt fingers lengthen, fingernails turning to claws. Reason slipping, she hissed at him, "Yes...how much do you value your life?"

RP continuation from Pg. 1:

"Forgive me, Lady," he said, in his usual solemn expression. "I know it seems that I'm being an ungrateful nag, but I'm just concerned. Lord Puddles-"

It was then a deep voice drifted across the work space, making both Stray and Cornelius jump at it's unexpected intrusion....

RP entry w/Jackie.
Amelie “Stray” Boggam leaned over a large lump of machinery that sat on the wooden counter at the helm of her airship, the Anila. It was a mass of clockwork, whirring gears and rows of small dials. With a small wrench she made adjustments to it. The autonavigator was a temperamental piece of machinery. Nothing she couldn’t handle, but beyond the expertise of Cornelius who was her co-pilot on this mess of a journey they were on.

Putting the wrench back in its tool pouch, she straightened and stared out the viewpoint. Her eyes that were usually a rich burgundy where now a deep pinkish gray, a physical sign of the stress she was currently experiencing. Her full lips, which were usually curved in good humor, were now a grim line as she absently reached down and readjusted the Anila’s flight path. They were close again. She could feel it.

Stray closed her eyes and wearily kneaded the center of her forehead with the back of a hand. She should have never agreed to go on this shipment run for Lord Puddles. He called in his ‘favor’ at the worst possible time it seemed. She should have told him no and to get his a** back to the Labyrinth because there was trouble brewing on the home front. She’d smelt it in the air like ozone, sensed flashes of it like a lightning storm on the horizon. She should have gone with her gut, instead of listening to Skyler. He had laughed it off; even though she was sure he felt it too. The mental bond they shared was strong.

Trouble is always brewing around here, he had said. Fenfen and Angel are magnets for it. You’re only going to be gone a few days at the most. Don’t worry, Red. You should do the cargo run for Puds. We’ll be fine. If something happens, we can handle it.

Her mate was a total rogue sometimes. And she was a dupe for letting him talk her into going.

Stray grimaced as she recalled his words. Skyler was right about one thing. Trouble did follow their ragtag little group like a magnet. They had almost arrived at their destination when she had felt that something was seriously wrong. Her mental connection with Skyler informed her right away of that Riko had been kidnapped. And that Lillian (aka Angel) had talked her way into going along on the rescue mission. A PREGNANT Lillian! What the hell were they thinking? She couldn’t believe Fenrir had agreed to it.

Men were so...ILLOGICAL sometimes!!!

Without a second thought Stray had turned the Anila around and plotted a course in the group’s direction. Cornelius, who wasn’t thrilled about this particular trip they were taking to begin with, was happy that they were turning around. But then was not happy when he found out they weren’t going home. And that they still had crates of only the Gods knew what in their cargo bay in which Stray wouldn’t allow him to look at or dump. Skyler had not been happy at all with her decision. He had ordered her to turn back around. He didn’t need to be worrying about her when he had so many other things to worry about. This, of course, was a big insult to Stray. It hadn’t persuaded her to turn around either. Being soul bonded was still a very new thing for both of them. They had just recently completed Maithuna, her people’s mating ritual. She had an easier time accepting it. He still didn’t fully understand what being bonded to her meant. He had been doing things his own way for long that it was hard to accept that it wasn’t going to be that way any longer. He didn’t believe that only together is when they were strongest, both psychically and mentally. She would be an asset, not a liability. And she could hold her own in battle. Only he, and Lord Puddles or course, knew what she was capable of. He had seen glimpses of her past though their mind link. What she could do and what she could become. If need be, she could take down a whole squadron of Daemon or Fallen and a Sage or two if she had to in order to protect her family. Why was he being so stubborn when it came to letting her help?


Then her mate had done something she had totally not expected. Something he had never done before. Something she hadn’t been aware that he could do. He put up a mental mind barrier. Stray had known Skyler telepathic abilities before they bonded. Those abilities hadn’t worked so well on her before. Of course those abilities grew after they had completed Maithuna. Just as she had predicted, old abilities increased and new ones would eventually manifest. What rankled was that he would actually try to completely block her so that she didn’t know what was going on. Oh, he couldn’t completely sever their connection. Death couldn’t even do that now. But she could no longer see thought his eyes or read his thoughts. The rational side of her knew that he was trying to protect her and keep her from being in danger. She loved him more for that, but she didn‘t want to be shielded by him that way. Just because she couldn’t see or hear them didn’t mean she couldn’t track them. Every living thing left a psionic trail wherever they went; it was just a matter of locating it. Most beings with mental talents couldn’t follow these trails over long distances. But Stray had a big advantage over most other talents. She was a succubus, a creature that existed in both the physical and psychic realms. Though it was difficult and required a lot of concentration and energy, she was able to pick up the group’s trail. It also helped that someone actually started leaving a sort of psychic bread trail for her as well, much to her surprise. And dismay. She was pretty sure in was Gwendalla.

Stray had only met the Sage of Dreams once, but she remembered the Sage’s energy signature. Though they had only exchanged a few words of greeting, the meeting had left her feeling unsettled for some reason. Like Stray had done something wrong or had failed to do something. The woman had the same look that her mother used to get when Stray had done something that wasn’t approved of. That gentle expression of sad disappointment that never failed to tug on Stray’s conscience. Why she had given Stray that look she had no idea. But it had bothered her for a long time after that. Knowing that Gwendalla was now involved really didn’t make her any happier about their situation. In her mind it just meant things had gotten a lot worst.

All the fear, anger and frustration she’d been keeping carefully in check started to simmer and bubble again. The blood teeth that usually remained firmly hidden slid from her gum line and she could feel her fingertips lengthening to claws. Even the top of her head and the small of her back began to burn and ache as horns and tail tried to thrust their way out. She had basically gotten a hold of her wacked out powers, but she still had a bit of trouble controlling her “inner demon”. It still rattled to get out from time to time. Extreme emotions brought on involuntary morphing, too. She began a stricter regiment of mantra meditation, yoga and Tantra. This helped her to control it. Mental or physical contract with Skyler usually stopped it immediately. But then there were those times that didn’t necessarily happen. Skyler actually liked her in that state. He lived dangerously in his professional life, why shouldn’t his personal life be any different? Not that she would hurt him or anyone else on purpose, but she was much stronger in that state and it was much harder to show restraint. It gave him a thrill to bring the wildness out in her, especially since he considered her too focused and reserved at times.

“Easy, my lady,” Cornelius said in a low, calm voice from behind her. The yellow, orange and white Sanya quietly padded up beside Stray, his gold eyes full of concern.  “Take a breath.  Breath deep.  That’s it.  Calm yourself.  Om santi santi santi.”

Om santi santi santi. Not a chant she usually would choose, but the mantra worked. As she whispered it softly, she felt her blood teeth retract back into her gums as well as the claws on her hands disappear. The burning on her head and lower back dissipated. Overall, she was improving. This was the first time in weeks since she’d had an episode. And she controlled it relatively quickly. She was grateful for Cornelius’ assistance, though. His calming presence did help.

Besides Skyler and Lord Puddles, Cornelius was the only one that knew just how deep her problems ran. After witnessing the aftermath of one of her episodes in which she had tried to kill Lord Puddles, Cornelius had seriously dove into her world. He learned anything he could about her species. From physical to spiritual, he studied everything he could get his paws on. He even learned different mantras, meditation techniques and practiced yoga with her. Or tried too. Being a Sanya, his body wasn’t really made for doing a lot of yoga poses. But it was the thought that counted, and she appreciated his support.

“I’m okay,” Stray said after several long moments, her voice huskier than normal. Better than a growl, she supposed. She opened her eyes and gave Cornelius a half hearted smile. The sanya still looked at her gravely. “Really. I’m fine.”

“If you say so,” Cornelius said moving back to the copilot’s area. “You still look a bit...ferocious.”

Stray snorted, holding her hands out in front of her noting that her skin had not changed back to its normal peachy gold color. It still was the rosy gold color it turned to when she morphed. She rubbed at her eyes tiredly, which probably looked like onyx marbles right now. She could tell because they were sensitive to the light. Too bad her vision didn’t improve any, she thought wryly. Her sight, especially in the dark, still sucked as far as she was concerned.

“That’s better than last time,” she replied. “I think you used the word demonic then.”

Sighing, she tugged her goggle over her eyes and felt around the pockets of her cargo pants for the small silver cigarette case she usually managed to ignore most days. But right now, she figured she was entitled to this particular vice.

“That’s a filthy habit, my lady,” Cornelius said, wrinkling his nose even though her herbal cigarettes smelled like cinnamon and cloves. “Think of all the impurities you’re inhaling into your body.”

“Yeah, I know. You and everyone else reminds me often enough.” Stray lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, relishing the calming effects it had as soon as it hit her system. “It’s not like it’s going to kill me, you or anyone else now, though. Acanite was good for something. No more disease.”

“To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear,” Cornelius stated. “Your body is a temple, but only if you treat it as one.”

“My body is an amusement park,” Stray murmured as she absently took another deep pull of her cigarette. “Thrills, chills and chaos theory made real...”

Cornelius snorted. “Yeah...one which should be closed for refurbishment,” he replied. Sometimes his lady sounded like her mate Skyler. He found it awfully vexing that fate would choose such a bad influence for Stray to be bonded to. However, very few people claimed that fate was always fair. It was just a fact of life.

Stray’s lips quirked upward at that response. She did enjoy the verbal sparring matches she had with Cornelius. Even though he was quiet most of the time, he could be a fluent, quick witted conversationalist. On most occasions he was able to keep her mind focused someplace else other than her worries. It wasn’t going to work this day, though. She needed to be focused on this particular worry in order to find her quarry.

Reluctantly, Stray tossed what was left of her cigarette into the smokeless ashtray that sat nearby and returned her attention to the helm. Closing her eyes, she focused her mind once more began to psychically scan for her missing comrades. She frowned as she began to attune herself to the party’s psionic trail. She had originally sensed their trail in Shilmista and was one step behind them ever since. With as fast as the Anila could go, they still couldn’t seem to catch them. This frustrated her to no end. It was the Gods were conspiring against her.

Then Stray started to feel the extremely bad vibes. And the nightmares came. She dreamed a kaleidoscope of insane images. Fighting, explosions, blood, dismembered body parts, screams and mad laughter. She could not see who was fighting or dying. Her dreamscape briefly became a funhouse of horror. She had to reinforce her own mental shields to wear off the onslaught of horrible images. But she was still terrified of what she’d already seen.

“This is crazy. Where the hell are they heading now?” Cornelius said exasperatedly as he saw her entering new coordinates into the autonavigator. “I feel like we’re on a wild goose chase-“[color/]

“No,” Stray interrupted him, her expression suddenly intense. “We’re very close now. Nearly there.”

“How close?” Cornelius asked. “We’ve been close before and still managed to miss them.”

Stray made an annoyed sound at her Sanya companion as she withdrew the Aether Disruptors from the holsters strapped to each of her thighs and checked their charges. She had never actually used them in battle before. Lord Puddles and she had tested them in a homemade firing range, though. So she knew their effectiveness against a nonliving target. She had been reluctant to try it on a living target before now. Lord Puddles had assured her, however, that they could fry a food source to the point it wasn’t worth eating. She grimaced as she remembered how jovial his tone had been when he had informed her of that. She made it a point not to ask what he had used it on exactly. She did make sure that the Disruptor he kept could only charge enough to stun a target and not kill it. A small detail she hadn’t mention to him when he took it back to his lab. Hopefully, he still hadn’t figured that out yet.

Cornelius raised a started eyebrow at Stray as her watched her holstering her Disruptors. This was the first time he had actually seen her withdraw them during this willy nilly journey, so his lady really must be feeling that they were almost upon their quarry. But the fact that she had them didn’t make him feel any more at ease. He didn’t like the firearms. He considered them too random and unreliable. But then, he didn’t like violence. He would much rather see people use their brains rather than a weapon to settle a bad situation. In his lady’s current state of mind, he feared that wasn’t an option.

“You made sure the medi-kits were stocked?” Stray asked absently as she checked her utility belt to make sure it had everything she might need. The vibes she was feeling didn’t tell her what they were flying into, so they needed prepared for any scenario. She wished the Anila was equipped with some sort of long distance defense. But she hadn’t come up with a disruptor design large enough for the airship. It was totally naïve to think that she wouldn’t need something like that right away. Now, upon reflection, she really needed to come up with something that could defend the airship; especially if she was going to be flying around to unknown and not necessarily friendly lands.

“Yes. During preflight preparations,” Cornelius replied mildly, fighting annoyance given the frame of mind his lady was in. He was taught the importance of organization and paid attention to detail. Something overlooked can make all the difference between safety and disaster. “Everything was checked...twice.”

Stray nodded and strapped on the utility belt. They were as ready as they were going to be. Now all they had to do was find their party. Once more she stood at the helm, her fingers lightly dancing over the controls, making changes as needed.

Cornelius studied the coordinates Stray entered and went to the table where the Anila’s maps where kept in the navigation area. Frowning, he went to the observation port and looked out. Below them was Asea Valley. In the distance he could just make out what he thought was the Seluth Sea.

“If the maps Lord Puddle provided us are correct, it looks we’re headed towards Seth’s Fortress,” Cornelius’ eyes widen lightly. “Isn’t he-“

“The Sage of Chaos.“ Stray finished grimly with almost a sneer.

It was then the pain hit her. A slashing wave of pain that was both psychic and physical that crashed across her senses. What felt like fire seared up her back forcing a scream from between clenched teeth. Everything around her started to waver and blacken. The smell of burnt flesh filled her nostrils as she felt explode around her and darkness envelope. Her last conscious thought was to focus her energy on something connected to her survival instinct.

"Skyler...!"


Hands. Strong, long fingered, slightly calloused and elegant. Stray was awakened to a gentle touch on her cheek. Gentle, warm and familiar. So light that it seemed more sense than physical. She felt those hands glide down her body slowly caressing her. And lips. Firm and teasing. She felt their feathery touch against her forehead, eyelids and mouth. Nipping heatedly on her neck and shoulder. She sighed as she felt sinewy arms wrap around her, relishing the feel of the lean, muscled body pressing against hers. Oh, she knew this virile male energy. Relief flooded through her as she skimmed her hands up shoulders and neck, sinking her fingers into his soft thick blue-black hair. She brushed her lips against the crook of his neck, inhaling his warm, spicy masculine scent.

“I’m very angry with you, Sky,” Stray murmured against his throat as she nipped at him, none too lightly on the strong column, before soothing it with a gentle lick. “You have A LOT of apologizing to do.”

His rich chuckle rumbled silkily in her ear. “Pray tell me what I did this time to incur such wrath, my lady, so that I may make amends.”

“What did you do?“ Stray’s eyes shot open and frowned, her cognitive abilities finally kicking in despite Skyler’s distracting canoodling. She hands fisted in his soft hair and pulled with a sharp little tug.

Skyler grunted his displeasure. “Ow! Watch the hair, Red,” his voice muffled against her throat as he resumed his manipulations. “Most of that just grew back-”

“You left me behind!” Stray growled at him, about ready to give his hair another yank when she finally noticed their surroundings. She gasped, her body stiffening in shock. “OH MY GODS!”

“Hmm?” Skyler’s mouth was currently busy sucking on a particular spot on her chest that usually caused her eyes to cross in pleasure. His hands were also very busy in other places on her body doing their best to make her mindless. “What are you talking about? You’re right here.”

“S-Skyler! Hey-ey-ey! S-stop!” Stray stammered, trying to arch away from his wonderful, wicked mouth. Concern about where they where overriding her the craving she always had for him and her anger. Her mate was sometimes way too single-minded and focused on his pursuits to listen, with either his ears nor mind, especially when he wanted something badly. She felt he was desperately trying to make his brain forget and block reality with pleasure. She couldn’t let him do that. Their lives depended on it. This wasn’t the ‘little death’ she wanted to experience. “You really-NEED-to stop now! P-please, Sky.”

Skyler stilled, her plea finally reaching him. He pulled back from her, staring down at her with gold eyes hazy with lust-fogged confusion. “Amelie? What‘s wrong-?” His eye cleared and looked suddenly alarmed. “What the- Where the hell are we?”

“The Veil.” Stray replied, staring at the translucent vortex of fog like substance that swirled around them.

Skyler’s brows shot up incredulously. “So are we…dead? Is this our afterlife? If this is heaven, it started out pretty great, but I can think of better places to hump for eternity in. If this if hell, well, I got off pretty damned lightly.”

Stray gave an involuntary snort of laughter. “It’s neither, actually. We’re in barrier between the physical and spiritual realms. The crossroads to the Astral Plains, the Afterworld or the Underworld lay beyond it.” She lifted her hand in the air just above Skyler’s head and slowly lowered it, testing the link to his body as well as each of his chakas as she went. “No…we’re not dead. Not clinically, anyway. But your life force is weak.” She reach around him, placed a hand on his root chaka and fed some of her energy into his body, strengthening him.

Skyler’s face tightened, his eyes unreadable. But Stray could feel the confusion and alarm in him. She reached up and brushed a lock of dark hair away from his face. “Where are you, Sky? What happened?”

Skyler was silent for a long moment as remembrance finally flooded him. She caught a brief of glimpse of what happened just before their spirits where pulled into The Veil before he slammed his barrier down again. Guilty sorrow burned in her chest for the tragedy that had befallen her comrades, her mate and her inability to do anything about it. She felt so useless, so helpless, so lost at the thought of being unable to fix-

Like a match flare she felt Skyler become extremely pissed. He gripped her shoulders and gave her a firm shake. “Damn it, Amelie! Stop it! This isn’t you’re fault. You’re not responsible for what’s happened. You can‘t fix everything. And I told you not to follow us!”

“And I told you that wasn‘t going to happen,” Stray replied, annoyance pushing grief aside. “What would you have done if it were you in my place? I don‘t see you watching helplessly from the sidelines when people you care about are in danger.”

“What would you have done if it were you in my place? I don‘t see you watching helplessly from the sidelines when people you care about are in danger.”[color=blue]“I was trying to protect you, 55] Skyler snapped.

“You don’t live as long as I have if you’re weak and stupid. I'm not fragile or feeble or helpless. I don’t want to be protected. I’m a fighter, Skyler. I may not be the kind of fighter you are, but I can hold my own. I can still watch your back. I can contribute!“ Her eyes burned into his. “You blocked me out. Never do that again. I can‘t function like that. For the past few days I’ve been going out of my mind. I had not idea what was happening with you or anyone else and it was slowly driving me insane!”

“I didn’t want you in harm’s way.” Skyler let out an explosive breath, his anger drying out as quickly as it had flared. He rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry. I‘ve never doubted your strength, you abilities or your courage. But you have to understand. I‘m not…I can‘t…”

“What?” Stray could feel Skyler’s emotions swirl: shame, self-reproach, exasperation and love.

Skyler‘s throat burned, but he managed to whisper, “Everything else in my life was taken from me. My kingdom, my thrown, my title- I survived that. I've survived imprisonment, beatings, starvation and war. I’m a strong man. But I not strong enough to lose you, Amelie. Other than my name, you’re the one thing in my life that‘s mine, and only mine. I don’t think I’d survive if I lost you too.”

Stray sighed, her smile bittersweet. That was probably the closest thing to an ‘I love you” she had heard him say out loud. She wrapped her arms around his waist and once more placed her hands on his lower back again to feed more life into him. “You drive me crazy when I’m with you, you drive me crazy when I’m not with you. You stubborn, hardheaded and difficult man. Neither one of us would survive without each other. I keep telling you this. We need to protect each other. Together we keep each other safe.”

“Can you tell if Angel’s alive? Could you open up and reach out? See if you can feel her?”

Stray shook her head wearily. “If I was on the other side of the Veil…maybe. Right now, I can only sense you through our link. But she’s strong, Sky. Stronger than any of you give her credit for. And she’s tough, despite appearances. If anyone can survive an attack like that, she can.” She ran her hands slowly up his back, feeding more energy into each of his chakras.

Skyler eyes widen into saucers, finally realizing what Stray was doing, and tried to make her let go. “No. That’s energy you can’t afford to lose. You need it to return to your body-”

She tightened her grip, feeling him stiffen and shuddered as she pressed more firmly. “My soul is bound to yours forever. Were you go, I go, and where I go, you follow. That’s the nature of being soul mates, love.”

Skyler looked away from her, his eyes haunted. “First Angel, now you. I swore to protect you both and I’ve failed.”

Stray felt the link to Skyler’s body stabilizing and relief flooded her. “Stop berating yourself. You haven’t failed us. Not yet, anyway,” she said, somewhat exasperated at him. “You can’t do a damn thing for either of us if this continues. So what’s it going to be, Skyler Case? Do we die together or do we live together? The choice is yours, but I much rather live for you than die with you.”

Skyler let out another explosive breath and after a long moment looked down at Stray almost ruefully. "You’re becoming the most willful, disobedient, impulsive. reckless and defiant female I‘ve ever met. And I have only myself to blame. I understand how Angel got Fenfen so wrapped around her little finger. I won’t make fun of him for being so p***y whipped now. Much."

Stray let one hand slid down over his hip and clamped suddenly clawed fingers around a particularly sensitive part of his anatomy, making him almost hiss. “We’re women,” she purred smugly. “That’s our jobs. Don‘t you forget it.”

“I assure you, my lady, I’m not about to forget any of this,” Skyler said through gritted teeth. “Now how the hell do we get out of here?”

Stray release him and frowned in thought. “Returning to your body is usually much easier than leaving it. You just focus on the idea of returning to it. It does require the knowledge of where you are in the physical world though. I know where I am. We need to find where you are….” She scanned the Veil around them. She could see Skyler’s pale blue psionic trail drifting upwards like a streak of smoke. As her eyes followed the trail, it began to ripple like sunlight on windy seas. As she stared more intently she saw the void above them begin to waver as well, becoming a murky, metallic blue-gray ring of watery light, and in it appeared the outline of Skyler’s body. “There,“ she said, motioning overhead, her voice trembling slightly as she saw what was left of his wings. “Well, it could be worse…”

“We could be dead,” Skyler said keeping his voice even as he cupped her cheeks to bring her gaze back down to his. His expression was stoic, even though his eyes were formidable. “How do we do this?”

Stray gave him a lingering kiss and gave him a gentle nudge upwards. “Your lifeline is much like a bungee rope. It’ll reel you back in if you let it. You just got to concentrate on your body, feel your connection with it, and reengage it.”

Skyler reached out and grasped her hand. “Not without you.”

Stray gave him that saucy smirk that he loved. “I’m coming. I’m right behind you.”

“Rather have you on top then,” Skyler muttered as they drifted closer to his body, smirking back at her though his eyes were unsure. “I‘d have a better view.”

Stray chuckled, shaking her head as she gently pushed against his chest coaxing him to continue upwards to his body. “You get back to the land of the living and you can have me any way you want.”

Skyler’s face lit up at the suggestion. His eyes speculative and mischievous. “Then I intend to have you every which way, and then some.”

Stray got some very graphic images in her head from Skyler’s thoughts. They were enough to make a blush bloom up her chest and into her face. Skyler could be quite overwhelmingly…inventive, even for one such as herself. “You’re so incorrigible,” she declared, unable to suppress a smile.

“I’m a guy. It’s my job to be incorrigible. It’s in my DNA. At least where you’re concerned.” He reach out and stroked her face. “I like that I can still make you blush.”

Stray embraced him fiercely and gave him a kiss that was just as fierce. “I love you, Skyler Case. No matter what happens that will never change.” With that, she quickly shoved him back into his body.

In a flash Skyler was gone. The Void began to darken and fade from Stray’s senses as she felt her spirit fall back, as if from a great height, back into her body.

Awareness came back to Stray slowly. She felt the beat of her heart, the air in her lungs, the blood in her veins, the softness of bedding beneath her. She could hear the low murmur of voices and immediately recognized Cornelius. The other two voices she didn’t she couldn’t place. She drew in a deep breath. Some of the scents and energies she inhaled where familiar, others were not….

Her eyes flew open as her memories returned. She found herself lying in the berthing quarters of the Anila. The room was cool, dimly lit by Aether lamps, and she wasn’t the only occupant. She got up slowly, still feel a faint burning sensation between her shoulder blades and down her back. Sympathy pain still traveled her psyche from her link to Skyler. She immediately knew he wasn’t among the new people on her ship. She could still feel him faintly, alive and unconscious, but whereabouts unknown. It left her feeling spent, both physically and emotionally, and disappointed that after everything she’d gone through he wasn‘t here. Drawing a deep breath, she shook herself to throw off the negative feelings to focus on the things within her control, like who besides Cornelius and herself was on board the Anila.

On the bunks across from the one she had been on lay Riko and Fenrir. Both were dead to the world and not looking well. She could see the sickness emanating from Riko. Whatever his captors had done to him had accelerated the curse within him. She felt Death lingering closer now, and knew that the sands on the hourglass of Riko’s life was diminishing quicker than before. She gazed down at him sadly as she removed the small chakra stone bag from around her neck and placed it around his, carefully avoiding the curse mark on his chest. It contained stones that held healing properties; smokey quartz, carnelian, citrine, aventurine, sodalite, amethyst, and clear quartz.

“You need this more than I,” she murmured to him as she gently brushed his golden hair away from his face. “It’s all I can do. It won’t cure you, but it should slow the poison down. I can’t fix this. I’m so sorry, Riko.”

She turned her attention to Fenrir and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. There was something in the way he lay there, the stillness of his body, that wasn’t right. The body was only alive because the brain was keeping it function. His soul wasn’t there. She could see the psychic wound on him, like someone or something had yanked it out forcibly. She hadn’t seen anything like that since humans were the dominate life form. It was very disturbing to her to see him like this. There weren’t very many beings or objects that could do this left in the world.

“My lady, you’re awake! How are you feeling?”

Stray looked over toward doorway. Cornelius walked in, looking profoundly relieved. Behind him were two men she didn’t recognize by sight. One blond, one dark, One lean, one buff. One had a pinched wane look, the other had a neutrally friendly one. Both had similar energies. Sages. Her blood teeth involuntarily slid from her gums and she almost growled.

“I’m alive,” Stray replied gruffly. “Skyler’s hurt, but alive. We got catch in the Veil for awhile.”

“You gave me such a scare,” Cornelius continued. “I’ve never heard you scream like that before. I thought you had died.” He stopped when he noticed her expression. “My lady, you’re looking kind of demonic right now. You’ll scare our guests-”

Stray snorted. “Oh, I doubt that. They’re Sages. And what do the all powerful Sages have to fear?” she purred balefully, stepping around Cornelius to stand in front of their “guests”. “Why is it that every time the s**t hits the fan I find Sages near by?”

Cornelius shifted nervously. “When you fell unconscious, I decided to stay on the course you set. I eventually found the remains of what used to be Seth’s castle, I think. Blown sky high. It’s where I found our passengers. These are the good guys-”

“You’re the good guys, huh?” Stray crossed her strong arms over her chest and stared at them with bottomless black eyes. “Well, good guys, care to explain what’s going on? Like why two of my friends are laying here, one dying and the other with his soul ripped out? And where the hell my mate and Lillian Durant are?” She bared her sharp teeth at the two men. “And make it snappy, because I’m hungry and I’ve a hankering for Sages.”

Stray sighed in resignation and fell gracefully into the lotus position in front of Ralu. She would have preferred in be further away from him, but it easier to attune herself to his location in she was in close proximity to him. It would have made the whole matter much better if she could do it with Fenrir. But since he was forcefully ripped from his body, there was energy trail strong enough to follow from the physical realm to the Netherworld. She only hoped she'd be able to pick it up quickly once she was there.

"Are you sure you want to be this close to him?" Cornelius asked as he hankered down beside Stray.

Stray snorted. "Not at all," she replied. "I want to do this next part even less."

Steeling herself, she lightly placed her fingertips on Ralu's knees. A static burst of energy made her snatch her hands away and gave the Sage a piqued look.

"What was that?"

"Nothing to worry about," Stray assured Cornelius as she shook her hands briefly. "Just a bit of opposing energy. Ralu's being a little b***h."

"Well tell him to stop being a little b***h. It's not productive and it's makes my trigger paw nervous."

She heard Conrad chuckle and she grinned briefly before reaching out to Ralu again, this time there was no resistance, only the muted vibration of his energy idling like a motor. It moved through her fingers, along her arms, sidling her whole body and making her scalp tingle. It was a surprising but not unpleasant sensation, rather like finding a chili in a korma. She found herself licking her lips, realizing she was hungry. She quickly pushed that thought aside as he closed her eyes and began to breath deep cleansing breaths.

Her consciousness began to sink downward, deep into the base of her spine. Then like the vapor phase of a geyser, it steamed upward from the seat of her spine to the crown of her head where it burst free from her body. Her essence drifted for a brief moment over her physical form while she got her bearings and she started to follow Ralu's trail, traveling one of the many paths that existed between the worlds. Soon she found herself in an unknown place with cliffs of mysterious shapes and colors. It was strange, yet lovely. Everything kind of glowed, faintly florescence, as if a giant blacklight shined down on them.

Kind of like walking into someone's acid dreams, she thought, squinting into the psychedelic darkness. She wished it was brighter though, once again cursing her poor night sight. Luckily, she sensed his presence near by. And there, a short distance away, he stood with his back to her. In his hand he had a bow, poised and ready to fire, even though she didn't see any of the legendary Kholiathra in the vicinity. Frowning, she silently ghosted up behind him.

"Stand down, soldier," she purred in his ear. He swung around, his bow would have been aimed right at her breasts if she hadn't knocked it aside with an elbow. "That wouldn't have been good if you had actually gotten a shot off. Skyler is rather fond of the girls here. So am I for that matter since they're real and mine. You need to be a little less jumpy. I told you I don't want anything harmed if we can avoid it."