The light pulsed, and pulsed, and pulsed, and as it did I felt an invisible conduit form between me and them. Their light surrounded me, it warmed my soul, and it burrowed its way into my heart. It also caused my skin to burn like it was on fire, and my body was glowing as much as the twins were. In moments the experience ended, as fast as it began, and I once again lay down to weep over my loss.
Though Kelli had come to us, she did nothing but hold me once more as I wept over all of the sisters' suffering, and for a long time I felt as if a part of me had been cut away. Millicent sat with us and stroked my hair while singing some childhood song she knew in an attempt to comfort me, and I was eventually grateful, but not in that moment. Cassandra did her part by bringing us the blankets we had been using so that we would be covered. And through it all, Kelli just held me.
Eventually the inspector that Penny had mentioned arrived at the stone ring and spoke with us. From our statements, and some explanation by Millicent and Penny, he had a pretty good idea of what had actually happened. As Penny had mentioned, he was somewhat aware of the existence of magic, and he was able to weave a series of events that the rest of the public would believe.
The story that would eventually be told was about a crazy Yank who had it in his head that he was some sort of occult master. He had been keeping slaves, and on the night in question he killed his supposed girlfriend in a demented ritual, and tried to do the same to other girls he knew. Eventually I had broken free and stopped him. The story was sensational, lurid, and even though he had escaped, it made for great television. The positive of the whole thing was that Jasmine's parents would at least have some sort of closure.
That night Penny took all of us back to her house so that we could sleep, and so we could speak with the other investigators and the press the next day. Ali and Jess took some convincing, but eventually we did seal our rite before witnesses, though it was difficult and not really satisfying. Cassandra and Millicent had transported home, but Ali stayed with us to fly back the long way at Jess' request.
She really had suffered quite a bit of trauma during the ordeal. I mean, she had been drugged and kidnaped like the rest of us, but a good friend of hers was murdered, and she learned that magic was indeed real. Ali had agreed to stay and hold her hand while she sorted things out in her mind. And that was how two days later we were back on the McAlister company jet headed for home after what would go down as both the best and the worst spring break trip of all time. I closed my eyes as Kelli and I laid together on one of the couches, and welcomed the blissful peace of sleep.
My eyes shot open after what only seemed moments, but I soon realized that I was again in the dream world, not sure how much actual time had passed. I didn't recognize anything about where I was, but I knew that I was feeling a definite sense of dread just being here. As I walked, I was moving through a series of hallways built of stone, with torches lining the walls. The feel of the structure suggested that it was very, very old. There were no windows that I could see as I made my way forward, and every so often there was an old iron bound wooden door that I passed. I felt I was being drawn somewhere, but I had no idea why, and the feeling of dread persisted.
I finally found myself facing another of the heavy looking doors at the end of a long passage, and I reached out and pushed against the rough wood. The door opened easily, and without any of the creaking or grinding I would have expected. I walked into a large room that was filled with shelves of books, a table littered with pen and paper, and a number of strange devices which probably had some magical purpose. There was a circle drawn in one corner of the room, strange symbols bound within its lines. I could smell that there were some small animals, probably in cages, hidden somewhere in the shadows where I could not see. And I felt a presence, a blackness of soul that made me want to vomit, which caused me to spin about in alarm.
"So, you are the new Neko that has caused me such trouble," a strange but sweet voice addressed me.
I could not tell if the figure before me was male or female, but they were dressed in a long red cloak, trimmed in black and silver, and it reminded me of Jasmine's green one. Whoever this was they were much taller than me, and a hood was pulled low enough over their face that I could not make out who it might be. The one thing that I was sure of was that this person felt absolutely and utterly evil.
"And you are coming into your power now that you have had your binding," that sickly sweet voice continued. "Oh, I'm going to have a lot of fun breaking you and that little bitch you call your mate, and when I am through you will beg for a death that I will grant only after I have destroyed all that you cherish."
I had been scared at first, but when this person threatened Kelli my simmering anger rushed up from my center of power. I hissed at their audacity and crouched low in preparation for a fight with this miserable human.
"If you even come near Kelli, I will make you wish you had never been born," I seethed, and I looked to see if I could discover any emotional bonds that might be attached to this dark stranger, but what I saw was only blackness in their soul.
"Ooh, our little kitten has a bit of fire. I'm impressed. And do not worry yet about your precious little bitch. You are thrice marked and thrice bound now, and the protection which that provides prevents me from acting immediately, but my time will come," and this last was said with a chuckle that sent shivers down my spine.
I decided that, even if this was a dream, I would rather take action than wait. I was prepared to strike and I moved up onto the balls of my feet so that I could strike quickly, but a mocking laugh froze me in my tracks.
"Oh, you have no power over me here little kitten, and I just wanted to see you for myself. I think now, however, is a good time for you to leave my domain."
And the cloaked figure raised their arm with a closed fist, their gesture looking like they were about to throw something at me. For an instant, however, I caught a glimpse under her cloak, and I did mean her. Whoever this was had a deliciously curvy body, and I briefly saw a full swelling breast with a perfectly placed nipple, and a quick glance lower allowed me to verify that there was neatly trimmed hair between her voluptuous legs. There was not even a hint of a penis. This was definitely a woman, and after my realization I began to laugh out loud. This new enemy had made a mistake. Perhaps not a critical one, but a mistake none the less.
Her change in posture suggested confusion, and after a few seconds of my laughter the cloaked woman spoke.
"I would like to know what you find so amusing little kitten, and why you are laughing when you should be whimpering in fear."
I pretended to wipe my eyes of nonexistent tears, just to piss her off before answering, "You know, I barely find out about you from a friend and you waste little time coming into my dream to intimidate me. I would say that that was done a bit early, but hey, it's your show. What I truly find funny is that the Circle and I knew absolutely nothing about you other than to call you Betrayer."
She flinched, and took a hesitant step back before trying to mock me with her words, "And that is all you shall ever know before I have you in my grip."
"Well, that's not really true either," I replied, parroting her mocking tone. "Before now we knew next to nothing. Now, however, we know you're a woman!"
The screech of anger that came from her cloaked form cut through what little confidence I had built up to that point. I took a step back, actually fearing for my life in that instant. She raised her fisted hand again and let it drop as she opened her fingers in a harsh slashing gesture. She had also called out some harsh word as her arm descended and a bright flash filled my blinded eyes, and I felt as if I was falling into some unknown pit.
After what I felt could have been either a few seconds or a few hours later, I opened my eyes and found myself back in Kelli's arms, with the comforting sounds of the jet all around us. Her deep breathing let me know that she was still sleeping soundly and I hugged her tighter to my body as I kissed her forehead. She twitched a little bit and mumbled something unintelligible before returning to her deep rhythmic breaths, and I lay there for a while, content just to hold her.