On into darker, more reference-filled territory.  Whee.

	As usual, any and all C&C is appreciated.  I'm
khaine@mindless.com.  E-mail me if you need previous chapters, too.

Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com

"What...  This is like good cop, insane cop!"
	-The X Files

Chapter Six 

    Kei stood on Mary's doorstep, feeling foolish.  She wasn't sure what
to do -- the Outer Realms were a bit short on doorsteps, or doors for
that matter.  Without the ability to pop open a vortex to see whoever
you wanted, life was much more complicated.  [Getting the hang of the
telephone took me all afternoon.]

    "Kei?  Is that you out there?"

    The voice came from the upper window of the house.  Kei waved and
shouted.  "It's me."

    The door opened a few moments later to reveal Mary, looking relaxed.
"Why didn't you ring the bell?"

    "Bell?"  A brief mental picture flashed -- a large, oddly-shaped
object struck to produce a pleasing sound.  Such a thing was not evident
on the doorstep.  "What bell?"

    "Nevermind.  Come on in."

    "Thanks."  Kei stepped across the threshold, suppressing a shiver as
she did so.  She reminded herself, firmly, that this was just Mary's
house and not her domain.  [She doesn't have any special power here.]
At home, entering someone else's domain was the ultimate act of trust.

    "Want something to drink?"

    "No, thank you."

    Mary flopped into an old recliner and gestured Kei to the
over-padded sofa.  "Everyone's asleep, including my sister, so it should
be okay to talk here."

    "Okay," said Kei, uncertainly.  Why it wouldn't be okay to talk
escaped her for the moment, but she let it pass.  "What exactly did you
want to talk to me about?"

    "I had some questions for you, about where you come from.  I hope
you don't mind."

    "It's the least I can do, since you're letting me stay in your
world.  What have you got?"

    "First things first: what *are* you people, anyway?"

    Kei gave a half-smile.  [I wish I knew.]  "It's hard to explain."

    "Where did you come from?"

    "I don't remember, exactly.  Very few of us do."  Of all the lords
she'd ever spoken with, only Ayre remembered his own origins.  [Maybe
that means he's younger than me.  I don't remember when we met.]

    "Okay."  Mary sighed.  "Let me get a little more basic.  Who's in
charge?"

    "Tsuiren."

    "What's he like?"

    "Good-looking, obsessive.  Not very bright."

    "I'd gathered that.  Why do you keep coming here?"

    "Technically, to gather energy."

    "You mentioned that."

    "Nowadays, though I think Tsuiren's obsessed with you.  He can't
stand the thought of you beating him."

    "How do I stop him?"

    "You've been doing a pretty good job so far."  Kei smiled, to show
that she took no offense, but Mary leaned back in the recliner, deep in
thought.

    "Any chance of him showing up in person?"

    "Not unless you make him *really* mad."

    "Okay."  Mary paused.  "The things that come on these jobs.  Are
they all...people, like you?"

    "No."  Kei waved a hand dismissively.  "Most of them are daemons,
power-wrought constructs we use for cannon fodder."

    Mary nodded, looking somewhat relieved.  [I wonder why?]  "What do
you think he'll try next?"

    "I don't know.  Knowing Tsuiren, he'll come up with some half-baked
plan he thinks will lure you into a trap, or some new monster he thinks
is unbeatable.  I don't think he'll manage, though..."  She trailed off
as Mary stared intently into the distance.  "What's wrong?"

    "They're here."

    "They -- how do you know?"

    "I can feel them, after they break through the Barrier."  She stood
up.  "Time to go.  You want to come along?"

    "I..."  An odd thought wormed its way into Kei's consciousness,
something she barely dared consider.  "I guess.  You might need help."

    "Possibly," Mary agreed.  "Let's move."

    [I can't attack her, because she'd almost certainly beat me.  And my
help on our side wouldn't matter so much.  But if she happens to get
herself killed, I'm sure Tsuiren will welcome me back with open arms.]
Kei smiled as she followed Mary out the door.  [Then I can get out of
this hell-hole and back where I belong.]

 

    Mary made in to one of her favorite vantage points in a series of
long, lazy leaps that simply floated through the sky.  Kei followed,
looking at the lights of the town spread out beneath her as though she'd
never seen a city before.  Of course, Mary reflected, she probably
hadn't.

    Sumiko was waiting, balanced on top of a flagpole on the balls of
her feet.  She jumped lightly down to the roof and nodded to Mary.

    "Not really a good night for it."  The Japanese girl waved vaguely
at the sky.  "Too overcast; no moon."  She blinked, noticing Kei for the
first time.  "Mary?  Who--"

    "It's a long story."

    Kei stepped forward.  "I'm Kei."

    "Eternity."  Sumiko shook her hand warily.  "Mary, she's--"

    "I know."

    "And she's on our side?"

    "For the moment."  Kei smiled.  "Mary did me the favor of not
chopping my head off, and I'm trying to repay it."

    "Okay..."  Sumiko shook her head.  "So what have we got?"

    "I'm not sure."  Mary concentrated.  "Feels like only one.  Why
would they send only one?

    "Maybe it's some sort of extra-big one?"  Sumiko sounded almost
happy at the prospect.  "Like a giant robot or something?"

    Kei shook her head.  "That seems unlikely.  Tsuiren has never gone
in for robots."

    "We'll just have to find out."  Mary closed her eyes and pointed,
then opened them again.  Her finger was aimed straight down Main Street,
currently choked with cars.  "I think he's in the square.  Come on."

    Wakarton had a modest town square, a theoretically grass-covered
space by Main Street that sported a number of churches and upscale
businesses.  In its center was a statue of one of the less popular early
patriots who had probably not done anything to deserve being visited by
pigeons all day.  Mary covered the distance to one of the buildings
adjacent to the square in a couple of jumps, with Sumiko and Kei just
behind.

    The demon was waiting for them, she noted.  It was a massive,
metallic shape, eight feet tall and broad to match, and looked like a
humanoid encased in some kind of articulated armor.  Twin blue
spotlights topped its shoulders, and in one hand it held a
multi-barreled gun longer than Mary was tall.  All in all it cut a
somewhat intimidating figure -- a gang of teenagers, who normally hung
out on the green to smoke and gripe, were watching it from behind the
statue.

    "Okay."  Mary blinked.  "What the hell is that?"

    "I...don't know."  Kei looked astonished.  "It's a daemon, and it
has a lot of energy behind it.  But..."

    "Who cares what it is."  Sumiko leaned forward off the rooftop,
eagerly.  "Let's waste it.  Eternity!"

    This last was a shout that echoed across the square.  Sumiko was
enveloped in yellow light, and Mary barely had time to curse as the
demon turned.  Its voice was booming and synthesized, with strange
reverberations.

    "I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA."

    And, that amount of conversation having apparently exhausted it, the
demon opened fire.  Mary was already jumping to one side as the minigun
spun up and spat a howling line of bullets that demolished the wall of
the building she was standing on and cut a sizable chunk out of the
roof.

    The plaza erupted in screams, and people were suddenly running in
all directions.  Mary hit the ground with a roll and started running
through clouds of dust, keeping the sparking flare of the gun to her
left.  As soon as the demon left off shooting, she shouted to Sumiko.

    "I'll take the right, you take the left.  I'll draw his fire.  Go!"

    She winged a dozen slices of air at the thing, which it completely
ignored; they left little scores on its armor.  Before she had time to
generate something more devastating, it swung towards her and opened up
again.  Mary rolled desperately behind a parked car, thought better of
it, and scrambled out of the way.  Holes appeared in the sheet metal of
the door, pock-pock-pock, before something punched through and the
vehicle erupted in a spectacular fireball.

    Smoke obscured all vision for a moment.  Mary hit the ground behind
another car, hoping to avoid notice, and started thinking desperately.

    [Holy shit.  Holy *shit*.  What the *hell* is that thing?]  This was
not a promising line of inquiry.  [Okay, okay.  What have we got?  He's
got enough armor to shrug off anything I can hit him with from here, and
I can't get close without being perforated.  Sumi might be able to take
him in hand-to-hand] -- assuming she hadn't gotten hit already, Mary
thought with a chill [-- but the problem is not getting killed on the
way in.]

    The sudden silence almost hurt her ears -- the unholy growl of the
minigun wound down with a whine.  Mary risked a glance around the bumper
and saw nothing but billowing darkness.

    [How fast can he turn?]  She pressed her memory.  With the minigun
firing, the massive figure had set his legs apart to handle the recoil.
[I wonder...]

    

    Kei coughed in the smoke, flinched at the sound of a heavy footstep
nearby, and retreated to the edge of the plaza.

    [I should get *out* of here.  ]Every instinct screamed at her to
turn and make a run for it.  She shook her head firmly.  [Mary's still
out there, somewhere, and she may beat this thing.  I need to hang
around, until one of them gets killed.]  She padded slowly around the
edge of the smoke cloud, nervous and ready to twitch in any direction.

    [Maybe *Mary* pulled out.  I mean, fighting this thing is ludicrous.
I don't know where Tsuiren dreamed it up -- I didn't think he could put
together a self-consistent daemon with power like this.]  She shifted
uncomfortably.  [He must have some new trick.  That hardly seems like
him, though; he never learns.]

    The smoke was clearing, revealing a plaza covered in shredded lines
of grass and soil.  There was no sign of the daemon, which was far from
comforting.  Kei suddenly felt very exposed, and was looking for cover
when she heard a soft curse from behind her, followed by footsteps.

    "He's up there!"

    A number of things happened very quickly at this point.  Kei spun to
face the tallest building on the square, a three-story Barnes & Noble,
and caught a glimpse of twin blue lights on the roof.  One story down,
on the building next door, there was a gentle yellow gleam.  Almost
immediately after noticing this, she was punched in the back very hard
and landed flat on the muddy ground, with her assailant on top of her.

    "Move!"

    "*Mary*--"

    She barely had time to recognize the voice before it was overwhelmed
by a supersonic *crack* that shook the windows of the buildings around
the square.  The weight lifted from her back, and Kei was dragged to her
feet.

    "Mary, what are--"

    "*Move!*"

    Mary darted forward, leaving Kei to follow at a slower pace.
Another [crack] shivered through the air, and the ground just ahead of
her foot exploded in a fountain of grass and mud.  She stopped, suddenly
realizing what was happening and involuntarily freezing in place.  Mary
half-turned.

    "Kei!"

    Everything was clocked in half-seconds, the time between deafening
booms and the flash of the sniper rifle.  Mary turned, grabbed Kei's
hand, and *pulled* -- *boom*, drilling a foot-deep hole in the turf --
and stepped back and pushed her from behind.  Kei stumbled a few steps
forward -- *boom* -- and collapsed gratefully behind the solid stone
pedestal of the statue.  She raised her head just in time to see Mary
cover the last few feet and collapse drunkenly against the stone.
*Boom.*  Another round cracked against the base of the statue, raising
sparks and whining away into the night.

    "Mary, are you--"  Kei leaned forward.  Mary had her back to the
pillar, one hand pressed flat against her skin just above the breast on
her left side.  Her breathing came in short, fast gasps, and her eyes
were closed.  "Dark Gods Below.  Mary?  Can you hear me?"

    After a long, long, moment, the girl opened one eye and nodded
shakily.  Kei relaxed for a moment before remembering that she was a
human -- as long a lord was conscious, she could probably repair any
amount of damage to her body, but humans got wounded and just *died*,
for no reason.  

    [Idiot.  This is your chance.]  Kei blinked as events reinterpreted
themselves.  [All I have to do is finish her.  She can't even move.
Then there's nobody left to stop us -- I can leave this town, Tsuiren
will never find me, and it'll be feasts every night.]  Blood, as
brilliantly red as the TV shows depicted it, pulsed lazily between
Mary's clenched fingers.  [Do it!]

    "Did you..."  Mary gasped for breath.  "Did you see...the glow, up
on the roof..."

    "Yes."  Kei leaned closer.  [Kill her!]

    "Sumiko's up there."  Mary closed her eyes again for a moment.
"She's getting close...to him.  We have to...keep his attention.  Just
another few seconds.  I'll run right, you run left.  Just go."

    "Just...*what*?  Are you insane?"

    "Not going to get...another chance."  She smiled, shakily.  "If it
doesn't work, we're all dead.  Fucking campers."

    [She doesn't know.]  Kei was almost stupefied.  [She doesn't even
consider the possibility I might hurt her.]

    "On three."  Slowly, painfully, Mary lurched to her feet.  She
winced, and her left arm hung limp at her side.  "One."

    [I'm not going to actually *do* this, am I?]

    "Two."

    [Coming to Earth was bad enough, but this is just *madness*.]  Kei
looked at Mary again.  [Dark Gods.  I *am* going to do it.  What the
hell is wrong with me?]

    "Go!"

    Mary stumbled out from cover, hand still clutched just below her
shoulder.  Kei found herself scrambling forward, looking at the top of
the building as she ran.  She could see him, dimly, lying flat on the
roof behind the long, simple shape of his rifle.  The yellow glow was at
the corner of the building.  [She's right.  Another couple of seconds.]

    *Boom.*  She felt the tug as the round whirred past, shattering a
windshield behind her.  It startled her so much that she lost her
footing -- Kei tumbled to the ground, cursing and half-expecting another
blast before she got up.  [Stupid, stupid, stupid...]

    "This is the police!  Throw down your weapons and come out with your
hands up!"

    A half-dozen police officers had piled out of three cruisers pulled
up onto the verge of plaza and were advancing across it, pistols drawn,
looking for the perpetrators.  Kei tried to scream a warning, but it
just came out as a half-hearted shriek -- three of the cops started to
jog towards her.  She finally got control of her voice, climbed to her
knees--

    "Look out!"

    --and the leading officer's face exploded outwards in a spray of
red.  Warm blood splashed against her arm, and Kei took an involuntary
step backwards as the other two cops paused in shock.

    "HEAD SHOT."  The voice boomed out across the plaza from the top of
the bookstore, and the police officers oriented on it and started
firing.  The rifle answered, its echoing boom making their nine
millimeters sound like popguns.

    "DOUBLE KILL."  One of the officers was hit in the chest so hard he
flew backwards and hit the ground rolling.  "MULTI-KILL."  The third cop
was turning to run before he dropped.  Kei was already running, towards
the bookstore.  More shouts echoed around the square.

    "M-M-M-MONSTER KILL.  UNSTOPPABLE."

    "Snipers!  We need back-up!  Officer's--"

    "By the Guardians of the End of Time, you will be punished!"

    "DIE, BITCH."

    

    "By the Guardians at the End of Time," said Sumiko, "you will be
punished!"

    "DIE, BITCH."

    Shouting a challenge *before* attacking, she realized quickly, had
probably not been a good idea.  But the armored figure was lying prone,
and fast as it was the length of the sniper rifle was cumbersome.
Sumiko vaulted across the roof, touched down only for a moment, and
jumped into a spinning kick that caught him right on the chin as he
tried to rise.  Her kicks carried more force than mere physics would
have dictated, enough to send a normal man flying, but the demon just
staggered.  She hit the ground and bounced to her feet, instinctively
ready for a counterattack.

    It didn't come.  Whatever the demon was planning, punching her
wasn't part of it.  Instead it reached behind its back and pulled out
another weapon, a menacing black-and-red thing far longer than could
have realistically fitted back there without showing.  It clicked one as
Sumiko ducked forward, grabbing one of his gauntleted hands and twisting
it enough so that the heavy thing fell to the floor.  As he released the
trigger, some hidden sense screamed -- Sumiko jumped backwards as the
thing fired directly into the floor and enveloped the space they'd been
standing in a massive explosion.

    The demon had jumped, too.  She'd ended up on the back side of the
roof, and he was on the other side, slipping his hands to the small of
his back and yanking out a pair of nasty-looking pistols.  At fifty
feet, he could hardly miss, so she was left with only one option.
Sumiko dropped off the roof, bouncing against the wall of the bookstore
to slow her fall, and landed amidst a maze of dumpsters in the back
parking lot.  She quickly rolled into hiding, and heard the heavy thud
as the demon landed behind her.

    [Okay.]  She smiled tightly.  [This is good.  Close terrain -- if I
can sneak up and disarm him, I've got a chance.  Mary's probably on her
way over here right now.  I just have to stay out of sight.]  She rolled
underneath one dumpster, stood up, peeked around a corner and almost
immediately ducked back as bullet stitched a pattern of holes into the
metal behind her.

    She looked around frantically.  Aside from the exit she'd just
tried, she was trapped in a long corridor formed by dumpsters and the
edge of the building.  [I could jump over, but that'd make me a perfect
target.  That leaves the other end.]  She couldn't hear the heavy
footsteps of the demon, but he was there somewhere -- her own steps beat
a tattoo to the end of the line and skidded to a halt.

    The demon was standing exactly where she'd wanted to go, and before
she could move he put away an odd saucer-shaped device and pulled out
the twin pistols again.  Sumiko skidded frantically, all her momentum
going the wrong way, and willed all the energy she could into the energy
field that surrounded her.  The guns blazed.

    [I've never been shot before], she thought, flying calmly through
the air.  [It's not as bad as they say.]  The force of the bullets
picked her up, energy field and all, and smashed her into the concrete
back of the bookstore.  She remained on her feet, barely, and a
half-dozen spent bullets dropped to the floor in front of her with
little clicks.  [But that's all I've got.]  Yellow light gradually faded
away, and Eternity was gone, leaving only Sumiko.

    She blinked, dully, in the twin blue lights.  The demon sighted
carefully.

    "0 \/\/ |\| Z 3 D," it said effortlessly pronouncing a string of
punctuation. 

    *Click*.  *Click*.  *Click*.

    The sound was somehow familiar.  The demon hesitated, looked up.

    *Click*.  *Click*.

    *Click*.

    Mary, up on the roof, released the trigger on the rocket launcher.
The spread of rockets were perfectly aligned; they blasted giant holes
in the pavement, frizzled Sumiko's eyebrows, and reduced the demon to
flying chunks of meat.

    After a long moment, Sumiko breathed out.  All around the plaza,
sirens were converging.

 

    Deep in the Outer Realms, the fireball gleamed in Ayre's mismatched
black/white eyes.  His lip quirked, ever so slightly, and one of his
index fingers began to tap.

 

    Sneaking past the police cordon was not as difficult as one would
have imagined.  The police were reticent to close in, for obvious
reasons, and since the suspect was a seven-foot tower of armor and heavy
weaponry they didn't bother with three young women on foot.  After that,
making it back to Mary's house was just a matter of fighting the flow of
reporters, cops, and interested bystanders.  Sumiko found the door open
and slipped into the house with relief just after midnight.

    A moment later, a black sedan cruised slowly down the street.

 

    "Matters appear to be resolved for the moment, Agent Rin."

    Rin ground her teeth and kept her voice carefully neutral.  "It was
still an unnecessary risk, Agent Deus."

    "A gamble we would appear to have won."

    "Except that those police officers are dead, along with God knows
how many others."

    "Our intervention might not have prevented those losses."

    "We would have had a better chance.  We could have pulled rank and
kept the local cops away from the scene, at least."

    "Not without revealing ourselves.  Stop for a moment, Agent Rin."

    She stopped the car as soon as they'd rounded a couple of corners,
and Deus leaned closer.  His eyes were unreadable behind tinted plastic.
Rin swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable.

    "Agent Deus...?"

    "I just want to impress upon you the importance of this enterprise.
This girl, Mary, is a Category Six supernatural.  To my certain
knowledge there are twelve Category Six individuals in the United
States, all of whom work for the Bureau.  There are perhaps one hundred
in the world.  And more to the point, Agent Rin," Deus allowed himself a
brief smile, "she is defending this town, this place, against the
demons.  She has obviously caught their attention.  Remember that this
is the exact scenario that the Bureau was designed to guard against."

    Rin looked at the floor.  "I know.  I understand, but..."

    "But?"

    "In that case, why don't we just grab her?  Call for backup.  She
got hurt fighting that thing, we should be able to take her easily."

    "And then what?  What happens when the next demon arrives?"

    Rin was silent.  

    "Should we fight that too?  Save the town?  Then what about the
next?  The Bureau does not have the resources to win a full-scale war
against the demons, Agent Rin, no matter how much we would like to."

    "So what do we do?"

    Deus smiled like a lizard.  "We wait.  And we watch.  And then, at
the right moment, commit ourselves."

    "How?"

    "The only correct solution to this problem is for the demons to kill
her."

    "Wh--"  Rin bit off her protest.  It was true, as far as Bureau
doctrine went.  "So you're going to attack her?"

    "Possibly.  But carefully.  We must not be seen working against her.
Only if the demons believe they honestly won this fight will things
return to normal."

    "That's..."  She wanted to say 'awful', but something in her
partner's expression told her it would not enhance her career prospects.
"That's going to be tricky."

    "Indeed."  Deus sat back in his seat.  "In the mean time, we have
some other problems to consider.  First among these is where that demon
came from."

    "Right."  Rin was relieved to change topics.  Something about Deus'
plan, logical as it was, rang false, but she pushed those thoughts away.
"I've never seen anything like it."

    "Nor have I.  There's something new here, Agent Rin."

    

    Lia was practically in tears from the moment they stumbled through
the door.

    "Jesus *Christ*.  Where have you been, Mary--"  She caught sight of
the blood, and the fact that Mary wasn't so much walking on her own as
being supported by Sumiko.  "Holy *shit*.  Is that...is she..."

    Sumiko paid her very little attention as she hustled Mary into the
living room and stretched her out on the couch.  The TV was showing an
aerial view of the plaza, alive with flashlights and the sultry glow of
burning cars.  Lia trailed behind her, still mostly in shock, while Kei
closed the door quietly.

    "This sleepy town's business district erupted into violence tonight,
as unidentified assailants opened fire on citizens and police officers.
We're coming to you live from the scene, and while the police have made
no statements yet, we can--"

    "Someone turn that thing off."  Sumiko, relieved of her burden,
wobbled as though she were about to fall over.  Lia hastily complied,
and without the television the silence rang loud.

    "I...is she going to be okay?"  Lia's voice was barely audible.

    "Yes."  Sumiko closed her eyes.  "Give me a second.  I just need to
run back to my house and get some stuff."

    "*Get* some stuff?  We need to call the hospital!  And the police--"

    Sumiko shook her head, tiredly.  "No.  Trust me.  I can--"

    "What do you mean, trust you?"  Lia stepped angrily towards Sumiko.
"I barely *know* you.  That's my sister lying there, and you won't...you
don't want to..."

    "Lia."

    Mary's voice was a croak, but it cut through the argument instantly.
Both girls dashed immediately to her side; Lia got there first.

    "Mary--"

    "Quiet."  Mary swallowed.  "Please.  I'm going to pass out again in
a second."

    "Okay."  Lia stared at the floor, her expression so distraught Mary
couldn't help smiling.

    "I'll be...okay.  It's just a scratch."

    "A *scratch*--"

    "Quiet."

    "Right."

    "Lia.  Listen to Sumiko, do whatever she says, don't ask questions.
Okay?"

    "Okay."

    "Don't tell anyone.  Especially"--she swallowed again, and
grimaced--"especially not Robyn.  Promise me."

    "I promise.  Are you in some kind of trouble?  I--"

    "Enough."  Mary closed her eyes, then opened them again.  "Oh.  Let
Kei stay here, if she wants to."

    "Kei?"  Lia looked around and noticed the older woman for the first
time.  Kei waved, self-consciously.  "I...I guess."

    "Good."  Now she closed her eyes again.  "Thank you."

    "Mary?"  Lia leaned forward.  "Mary?"

    Sumiko hastily checked her friend's breathing and found it shallow
and raspy, but there.  She shook her head and staggered to her feet.

    "You two stay here.  I'll be right back."

    Kei blinked.  "Me?  I mean..."

    "Just...stay put, okay?"

    "Okay."

    

    "I'm not stupid, you know."

    Lia was talking to herself.  Mary lay on the couch, eyes closed but
breathing more easily since Sumiko had returned and poured some medicine
into her.  Sumiko was upstairs, in Mary's room; she'd practically fallen
off her feet.  And Kei was out on the back porch after scrounging a
sandwich from the kitchen.

    "You think I am."  Lia wiped the back of her hand across red, bleary
eyes.  "I guess I can't be offended.  You think that everyone's stupid,
and most of the time you're right.  Dad never notices.  No one else pays
any attention.  But I notice."

    She was sitting on one arm of the couch, leaning against the wall.
One arm trailed down to run a finger through Mary's hair, which was
matted with blood and sweat.  Her voice was barely a whisper.

    "Come on, Mary.  You come home late half the time, you're always
getting hurt.  People are *scared* of you at school, like you were some
sort of bogeyman.  And now stuff like this.

    "Why didn't you ever tell me anything?  I can keep a secret."

    Lia sighed.

    "Let me guess.  You don't want me to know, because I might get hurt.
Poor Mary.  It must be tough constantly throwing yourself between
everyone else and the world."  This last came out too quick, too
sarcastic.  Lia hunched forward.  "I'm sorry.  I'm just scared.  Every
time you leave the house at night, or I wake up and you're not there, I
get so damn scared..."  Her hand closed slowly into a fist, trapping a
twist of Mary's bone-white hair between her fingers.

    There was a long moment of silence before she let go and breathed
out.

    "I mean, what would I do if something happened to you?  You're the
only one who cares that I exist at all.  Maybe the teachers at school
would miss me for a few days, and Darren would have to find some other
girl to feel up.  And Dad might notice by Christmas or so.  But you're
the only one who really  cares."

    She shifted uneasily.  "God.  Now you've got me talking to myself.
When you wake up, we're going to have a serious chat.  Okay?"  Lia
leaned over and kissed her sister on the forehead.  "Okay."

    She wandered into the kitchen, wiping her eyes again and feeling
simultaneously silly and sorry for herself.  There was a box of instant
hot chocolate on the counter, a bedtime staple of hers for many years,
and she went through the motions of making it on autopilot.  Once it was
finished, she drifted out onto the back porch with the steaming mug in
one hand, looking for company.

    Kei was leaning on the railing, looking up at the stars.  Lia
savored the cool breeze as she walked over; a creaking board made the
older woman jump before she realized who was behind her.

    "Hi."  Lia waved her free hand.  "What'cha doing?"

    Kei took the question at face value.  "Contemplating the idiocy of
the universe in general and myself in particular."

    "Ah."  Lia stuck out her hand.  "I don't think we've been
introduced.  I'm Lia.  You're Kei, right?"

    "Right."  Kei shook gingerly.  "You're Mary's...sister, correct?"

    Something about the way she said the word sounded strange.  Lia
nodded.  "Yes."

    "I see."

    Kei went back to leaning on the railing, and Lia joined her, sipping
her drink and smiling at the almost-bitter taste.  Finally she sighed.

    "Look.  I'm not going to ask about whatever business you're mixed up
in, because you won't tell me."

    Kei looked surprised.  "Okay." 

    "But I'm lonely, and a little scared, and I'd like to make
conversation.  So talk to me about something."

    "I was thinking about the stars."

    "Oh?"  Lia looked up.  This close to the city, the night sky wasn't
particularly impressive, just a sprinkle of glittering dust across the
black velvet backdrop.  "What about them?"

    "They're giant balls of flaming gas, thousands of light-years away."
Kei shrugged.  "Or so I am given to understand."

    "So?"

    "Doesn't it all seem a bit wasteful?  Billions of suns, untold
reaches of empty space, just to make a pretty display half the time on a
tiny little rock like this?"

    Lia half-smiled.  "That's an odd way to think about it."

    "You'd think there'd be an easier way to do it."  She shrugged.
"But..."

    "But?"

    "This is the first time I've ever really seen the stars.  For real,
I mean.  And I find myself impressed."

    Lia blinked, and finally nodded.  The two stood for a long time in a
more companionable silence, staring at the night sky.

    Finally, Lia said, "You're weird."

    "Really?"  Kei smiled.  "I'm sorry.  I'm not from around here."

    "Ah."  Somehow, she'd already guessed that.  "Your English is good."

    "Thank you."

    "How long are you staying?"

    "I don't know."  Kei put her chin in her hands, leaning on the
railing.  "Maybe forever."

    "Wow."  Lia paused.  "You think you'll get homesick?"

    "I already am."




Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com

"It's not that important to live; it's just important not to die."
	-Jon Carroll 




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