Disclaimers: The usual I suppose, same sex relationship somewhere in this, although how detailed that’s going to be is up to the muse. Major thanks to Diva along with L and L for there help with this! Thank you to Amy for her support, and as always dedicated to my Angel.

I’d love to hear any constructive criticism or suggestions, at : adarkbow@yahoo.com so please send them on! Hope you like the story. Windstar

It wasn’t until dusk of that day that they managed to get back to Marina’s place. Gwyn had almost literally crashed after they’d watched the sun rise. She’d fallen asleep on the couch, but Sarah had somehow gotten her up the stairs and into her bed. At least she assumed it was the Magister who had carried her, since she’d woken up around three when Sarah had come to wake her up for a late lunch.

"Do you ever sleep?" was said with a bit of an accusing glare at the Magister, even after nearly eight hours of sleep, Gwyn still felt sluggish. Sarah, to her annoyance, just smirked and adjusted the sunglasses she was wearing, keeping one hand on the steering wheel.

"No one in my family sleeps much. Too much to do during the night I guess."

Which sounded like a good answer, until Gwyn thought it over and realized what Sarah meant by too much to do during the night.

Too many things to hunt down, she means.

Desperate to distract her thoughts from calling up mental images of the nameless monsters she’d once more dreamed of, Gwyn changed topics.

"Eric feeling ok?"

The driver snorted, keeping her eyes on the road and dodging through the vestiges of the evening rush hour.

"Best he’s felt in months, I don’t know what you did to him Gwyn, but he looked good today."

A brief glance at her passenger and she smiled.

"Thank you for that."

The blonde shrugged a quick smile forming, then dying as she looked back out the window. Watching the blocks streak past as they went to meet this Marina. Sarah’s next words were softer, and she could feel the concern in them.

"What is it?"

Gwyn shrugged, keeping her eyes on the world outside the SUV.

"I keep on thinking about how their lives must be."

Nodding towards the people outside, hurrying home from work, or going about daily chores.

"How it must be to know where you come from, who your friends are, what your name is…"

She didn’t realize she was crying until Sarah pulled the vehicle over into the parking lot of a McDonalds and reached over. Gwyn gave a sniffled whimper and met the Magister halfway, burying her face in the taller woman’s shoulder.

"I can’t remember anything, and I keep trying and trying, but I can’t and then I dream and I think things are chasing me. But I don’t know what they are and who they are, or why they want me. I don’t even know if they’re real or not!"

Through it all the arms around her had not loosened and Gwyn greedily soaked up the comfort that Sarah was offering. After a long few minutes, and some odd looks by the people passing by outside, when Gwyn’s sniffles had died off, Sarah pulled back. Offering her a Kleenex, the Magister smiled slowly, her eyes a shimmering hazel.

"Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out, ok?"

Gwyn nodded slowly, finding she couldn’t doubt the other woman when she looked so certain of that fact.

"Ok."

Gentle fingers touched her cheek and Sarah smiled once more before putting the vehicle in gear and pulling out.

"I hope your friend, this Marina, can help."

"So do I, Gwyn, so do I."

----------------

It wasn’t that long a drive to Marina’s, although it did take a while to dodge her way through the evening rush hour traffic. As yet another taxicab tried to cut her off, the Magister growled in frustration and edged the large SUV into a gap in the traffic through sheer willpower.

That and the guy driving the Beetle was in no position to really object too much.

"Come on, come on. HEY! Learn to drive! This is why I don’t like to drive during the day, all the freaks are out."

The feeling of being watched caused her to glance at the grinning blonde in the passenger seat. The grin disappeared the second Sarah growled at her, but Gwyn’s blue eyes were still dancing with mischief.

"Something amusing?"

Sarah growled, once more glancing at her passenger, before returning her attention to the crowded road, just barely making her way through the yellow light.

"Does everyone get this upset driving?"

"Only because of other drivers… Yeah, I’m talking to you, asshole! Get out of the way!"

The taxi driver in question gave them a one-finger salute and kept right on weaving his way through traffic, leaving Sarah snarling as she had to stop at the next red light, and cursing under her breath.

The giggling from the passenger side seat was not helping.

"Fine, next time you can drive if you think you can do better."

"But why would I deny you such pleasure, Magister."

"Smart ass."

There was a bit of silence as Sarah finally managed to duck her way out of the traffic and into the quieter residential areas leading towards Marina’s.

"My ass is smart?"

Laughing, Sarah pulled the SUV into a parking space in front of the converted church.

"Never mind, come on, let’s go see Marina."

Getting out onto the sidewalk, Gwyn smiled down at the tufts of grass that were growing between the cracks. A pool of light spread out around them from the nearest working streetlight. Her smile widened as she looked up and saw the building that they were walking up the path to.

"Your friend lives here?"

"Yup."

"Nice place to live."

"Oh and the Manor isn’t?"

Gwyn nudged the Magister at that, grinning as they reached the front door.

"That’s not what I meant, I love your house, but this is different."

"Yeah different is one word for…"

The blonde looked up at the dark haired Magister, puzzled at why she’d stopped dead like that.

"What is it?"

"The door’s open."

From the tone of voice she’d used, Gwyn was pretty sure that wasn’t a good thing. A soft whisper of sound and Sarah was holding a sword that blazed to Gwyn’s eyes, blue flames crawling along the length of the blade.

"Stay here."

A quick glance assured her that the rest of the street was dark, and things were moving through the shadows. Biting her lip she shook her head and took a hold of Sarah’s free hand.

"Gwyn, it could be dangerous."

"I’m not staying out here alone."

Sarah stared at her through those sunglasses she constantly wore then slowly nodded.

"Stay behind me."

Gwyn obediently took hold of the taller woman’s jacket, holding onto the waistband tightly. She couldn’t see much around the woman in front of her, but whatever was beyond the doorway was enough to make Sarah freeze.

"What is it?"

Even her whisper sounded loud though, and Gwyn winced, peering behind them fearfully at the thick shadows across the street. Something was moving there, she was certain of it, a shape darker than the shadows around it. She could almost make it out.

The enemy?

Sarah’s lunge forward dragged her through the door before she could see anything else. The inside of the converted church was not as peaceful as Gwyn was expecting, indeed it was making her uneasy. Furniture was strewn about; papers and books flung carelessly everywhere. Lanterns had been shattered, and the only light came from two table lamps lying on the floor, their shades missing. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask the other woman if her friend was always so messy when Sarah slowed to a stop. Following her gaze, Gwyn looked upwards, towards the vaulted ceiling.

Specifically the chandelier hanging from it on chains.

More specifically the body that had been crucified on it.

In shock, the blonde let go of Sarah’s jacket, staring up at the sight numbly, her lips forming silent words with no meaning that she knew. The Magister skirted the edges of the crimson pool that had formed below the body. Even as they watched, drops of blood continued to fall and splatter onto the pool below. Grimly Sarah went to the chains that held the chandelier aloft and undid their stays, grunting as she lowered the body slowly to the floor below.

Gwyn took a step backwards, then another, and another as the body and chandelier came to a rest in the pool of blood. Her lips still struggling to say words her brain no longer remembered she clutched at the front doorframe, legs threatening to give way under her. The Magister had sheathed her sword, and now gently undid the thick cords keeping Marina’s body tied to the chandelier, carrying the body to the nearby couch and laying her down on it.

Gazing down at what had once been her friend she closed her eyes against the furry that was building inside her. Someone had carved symbols into Marina’s skin, some of which looked like the ones she’d found in Gwyn’s hospital room.

"Why?"

Her voice, even to her ears, was hard and cold as she stared at the small blonde. Gwyn stared back in confused shock, her skin once more completely white.

"WHY!?"

The yell was enough to shake Gwyn out of her shock and she managed to take another step backwards as Sarah stalked towards her.

"Why did they kill her?"

Gwyn just shook her head helplessly.

"Who did this, Gwyn? WHO?"

The Magister grabbed hold of the smaller woman’s arms, holding her in place.

"Who, damn it, who?"

"I don’t know!"

She was crying again, Gwyn could feel the tears trickling down her cheeks as she stared up at the enraged woman holding her arms. Sarah’s eyes were completely black, as hard as obsidian, and there was a dangerous glitter to them.

"I don’t know!"

Sarah’s jaw worked as if she wasn’t certain what she was doing, and her grip loosened, then slid around the trembling woman, gathering her into a tight hug.

"I’m sorry, shhh, I’m sorry."

Closing her own eyes she held Gwyn tight, feeling the racking sobs that shook the other woman.

"We’ll find them, I promise, we’ll find them."

Sarah wasn’t sure which one of them she was promising; in the end it really didn’t matter though. Someone had killed a friend, in her city, and she was going to find them, no matter what.

Gwyn slowly pulled away, using the sleeves of her new shirt to wipe her eyes.

"You ok?"

The blonde nodded slowly, hugging herself against a chill that had nothing to do with the cool night breeze.

"We’d better give the cops a call."

Gwyn shrugged, not meeting Sarah’s eyes, and looking over her shoulder towards the SUV. Which was how she spotted the thing stalking up the walkway. For a split second she thought it was another one of her nightmares, then it hissed, and she knew it was real.

"SARAH!"

The Magister had been turning towards the church and pulling out her cell phone. The phone hit the ground as she turned around at Gwyn’s terrified scream. The blonde was pointing towards the sidewalk leading up to the church door, but she couldn’t see anything that would have scared her.

"What? What is it?"

The blonde was by her side in an instant, and steadily backing towards the door behind them, tugging Sarah along with her.

"It’s here."

"What? Where?"

"One of the things from my dreams."

The creature had bat-like wings, and its maw held an impossible amount of teeth as it screeched at her.

"Can’t you see it?"

Gwyn yelled to overcome the screech she heard, Sarah heard and saw nothing out of the ordinary though, and the Magister slowly drew her blade, dark eyes flicking back and forth, trying to search for a hint of movement, anything to give her an idea as to what it was that Gwyn was seeing.

"Where is it?"

"Heading right for us!"

Sarah slashed outwards, the tip of her blade becoming a blur of silver as it cut through air. She thought she felt something, just barely, slow the blade as it passed through empty air right in front of her, and the glyphs on the blade flared brightly for a split second. Gwyn saw the blade pass right through the creature, who howled in what she thought was more surprise than pain, and raised a clawed hand, backhanding Sarah. The Magister came up off her feet and flew across most of the yard, falling into a tangle at the far edge near a row of cedar bushes.

"Sarah."

She’d meant to scream, but it came out more like a whimper.

Gwyn’s back hit the front doorframe to the church and her blue eyes were wide with terror as the creature reared upward. It had only looked to be four or five feet tall down on all fours, but as it reared up, it loomed over her, at least eight feet tall. The bat-like wings flared outwards and it screeched again, dull, red eyes glared with hatred at her and a clawed hand came up for a killing blow.

She acted in reflex, bringing both hands up to shield her head from the blow, and closing her eyes.

When she heard the thing scream instead of being turned into a piece of mangled meat, she cautiously opened her eyes.

Light played along her fingers, white and pure, crackling with energy. The creature had reared back from her, trying to shield its eyes from the light with its wings. As she stared at her own fingers in astonishment, the light faded, dying out until there was only the light from the far streetlight. Gwyn gulped and looked up, as the creature let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like an evil snicker.

The sound of a metal object bouncing along against the cement sidewalk brought both Gwyn and the creature’s attention down to the ground between them. The fist-sized metal sphere that rolled to a stop between them didn’t look very threatening. Indeed Gwyn wouldn’t have moved if Sarah hadn’t yelled.

"Gwyn, duck!"

Trusting her friend, Gwyn tossed herself to the side just as the globe exploded with light. The flash, even though her face was averted as she hit the lawn and her eyes closed, was blinding. She could hear the creature screaming in pain, a sound like a thousand knives being dragged against glass. Then strong arms were hauling her to her feet, and dragging her towards the SUV. Her eyes were still dancing with after images as Sarah yanked open the door, tossed her inside, slammed the door, and ran to the driver’s side.

"That’s it, we’re getting the hell out of here."

To Be Continued.