Satin Bruises

Reilly stood from the triskelion she had just drawn, standing back to make sure all of her lines were clean, and checking that every candle was lit. The cute brunette dancer from the club stood nervously off to her left, lavender eyes watching every move Reilly made. Not at all what she had expected, Nathaniel was incredibly curious about every aspect of the ritual, and had actually demonstrated some latent power earlier. Damien was leaning against the wall furthest from where Reilly stood, scowling.

"And you are sure that this will break our bond?" Damien asked, for the hundredth time. Reilly smiled.

"I told you, I'm simply going to treat this like an exorcism. The situation here with Anita is very...complicated, but it is a relatively easy repair, in theory," she answered, word for word what she has said before. The vampire frowned deeper.

"But an exorcism?" He asked again. To Reilly's surprise, it was Nathaniel who answered.

"It makes sense. She's going to remove our spiritual presences from each other bodies. I can see why you thought an exorcism would fix this," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Reilly smiled hugely, sea eyes crinkling.

"We just need Ms. Blake, my evil twin, and a volunteer to make dinner after all this. Everyone involved is going to be more hungry than relieved to be out," Reilly joked, stepping out of her heels.

"Evil twin has arrived," a voice chimed as Raleigh clattered into the room. She was followed closely by a very amused Micah. Both of them were carrying heavy white bags. The scent of coconut milk and lemon grass infused the room. It looked like the panther and the witch were carrying an entire Thai restaurant in their arms. Reilly raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, big magic," Raleigh said, "it makes you munchy." The sister's shared a laugh at an in joke, and Raleigh kicked off her sneakers.

"Alright, shoes off, folks, we're getting ready to start," Reilly said, spying Anita's dour face as the petite woman walked in, followed by an even more irate Richard.

"What the hell is this?" Anita asked, sneering at the many-colored candles.

"Standard procedure exorcism," Reilly answered, always the peacekeeper. Jean-Claude entered then, sucking the oxygen out of the room for Reilly. He smiled at her, cobalt eyes gleaming for a second. Asher trailed in behind him, hair trailing over his scarred face. With a grin Raleigh stepped into the center of the triskelion, drawing a gold double-edged dagger from the small of her back.

"Are we going to do this, or not?" Raleigh asked, with a challenging look at her sister. Reilly winked back.

"If we could have the first victims in the circle, please?" Reilly asked with a laugh, moving to meet her sister, bringing a beaten gold bowl with her.

"No shoes," Raleigh said, shooting Anita a glare. The brunette sneered again, and toed off her work boots. She moved into the chalk drawing, crossing her arms over her her chest. Richard stepped in too, taking his position behind Reilly. Both of the twins narrowed their eyes. Jean-Claude followed the were, gently nudging him closer to Anita.

"Take hands," Reilly said, setting her palm against her sister's heart. Raleigh did the same, and the girls closed their eyes. Slowly at first, magic trickled out from the two girls, pooling at the conjoined hands of the triumvirate. Steadily, the magic built, creating a tingling tension against the faces and body of everyone within the chalk lines. Anita shivered, and Richard's true-brown eyes were swallowed by wolf gold. Jean-Claude let out a gasp, and the twins opened their eyes. Instead of the normal, drowning green-blue, the pupils swallowed their eyes, eating the light out of the room, and causing the candles to seem dim.

"Nos peto cerno illa three quisnam es injustus iunctus," Reilly spoke, holding the bowl at the level of the girls' navel.

"Nos peto divido, nos peto ut repello," Raleigh responded, bringing the flat gold blade to rest, tip down, in the center of the shallow bowl. Reilly removed her hand from her sister's heart, and placed her palm against the edge of the weapon. Raleigh matched her on the opposite side.

"Nos effrego vinculum illae alica," the girls spoke, dragging their hands down across the length of the blade. The candles flickered, and the spectators exchanged an uneasy glance.

Magic flared white hot around the twins, moving in a slow spiral out to each of the points of the triskelion. Each of the spell's subjects stiffened as the power moved into them. The twins, on their part, remained as still as statues; their focus was inward. The magic twisted through them, and found the places in each of the triumvirate's aura where there was merging, and slowly, painfully, they began to draw the energies apart. It was slow work, Anita's magic had bonded fiercely with the vampire's, and Jean-Claude's power had blended so completely with Richard's that the two were almost indistinguishable. The twins held their position, and wielded their magic sometimes like a machete, sometimes like a scalpel. The air currents in the room shifted as they moved from aura to aura, and finally only three candles were lit. Antia's magic, and her vampire marks were now the only thing holding the triumvirate together. Jean-Claude would have to remove the marks himself, but the twins slowly drew out the necromancer's magic, separating the auras completely. The three remaining candles dimmed, then died.

Without exchanging words, the twins used their built up magic to remove the vampire and the werewolf from the triskelion and drew Nathaniel and Damien in. Again, they sliced through the aura's carefully. Damien's aura was barely connected to the others, but Nathaniel's was fused strongly with Anita's. The twins cut the connections carefully, but Nathaniel's aura fused with Anita's again. The magic swirling around them surged and grew brighter, spiritually burning the auras from each other. A bright line pulsed between the mixing auras and pushed them apart permanently. Once all three were separated, the magic swirled back into the twins, leaving the room as it was before. All of the candles were lit, the triskelion was no longer glowing and the smell of Thai food wafted around the room.

Slowly, the twins removed their hands, unmarked and clean, from the blade. Reilly placed the golden bowl in the middle of the triskelion and carefully stepped outside the marks. Raleigh placed the dagger across the top of the bowl and followed her sister, less ceremoniously. She smiled to find that Nathaniel and Richard had already began to devour the food. Anita begrudgingly accepted a container from Micah. Jean-Claude and Damien had disappeared, no doubt to go find their own "food". Reilly snatched some food from one of the bags, inhaling its contents. Micah handed Raleigh some chopsticks and a box, then kissed her forehead as she munched away. Anita snorted ungracefully.

"You two are pathetic," she growled. Raleigh glared at her, stuffing more noodles in her mouth.

"And you're a tramp," Raleigh retorted. "What's your point?"

Richard shot a hate filled look at the woman and put his food down. The leopards stiffened as he rose off the ground and stared the twin down. Raleigh stayed seated and continued eating, staring back at the wolf.

"You do not talk to her like that," Richard growled, moving towards Raleigh. Raleigh rolled her eyes.

"I can talk to her however I want and you better sit your ass back down because I have no problem beating the shit out of you again." Richard growled low in his throat, hands balling into furious fists.

"Sit the fuck down!" Rang through the room, but the voice had come from the wrong twin. Finally upset, Reilly was on her feet, all five foot four of her vibrating, and focused on the were. Too surprised to speak, Richard turned to look at her, mouth agape.

"Reilly?" Raleigh asked, goggle eyed at her sister's behavior.

"We're not upset, it's all good," Micah insisted, taking Raleigh's hand. He exchanged a worried look with Raleigh.

"NO it is NOT all fucking good! You selfish, stupid, petty man! My sister and I just saved your pathetic ass, and all you can do is bitch? What the fuck is so wrong with your life? Oh poor you, your girlfriend is a whore, and you rule one of the largest packs of werewolves in the continental US. People have KILLED to be in your shoes. Don't you dare act like you're some kind of saint, I will tear you the fuck apart. You should be on your knees thanking us right now. Now; sit. The. Fuck. Down. Or I will get you there," Reilly hissed, magic flaring around her petite frame. Anita's eyes narrowed at this little speech.

"Excuse me? Who is the whore here? You two run around fucking two of MY boyfriends, and I'm supposed to just sit here and take it? It is past time I taught you and your slut sister a lesson," the necromancer yelled, pushing away from the wall to stand.

"You want me to break your other arm, Ms. Blake? I can oblige. I'd like to wait until after we've gotten the vampire marks removed, however, so I can tear your head off like you so richly deserve. Right this second, it'll cut into all of the incredibly satisfying, and guilt free sex I'm having with Jean-Claude," Reilly answered, voice dropping to dangerous levels. Raleigh wasn't sure if even Jean-Claude could stop Reilly from ripping Anita apart right now.

"Go fuck yourself," Anita yelled, stepping past Richard to get in Reilly's face.

"You know what your problem is?" Reilly asked, sounding perfectly calm. "You have no class at all." With that, Reilly unleashed every ounce of her magic onto Anita's mind and body. The tiny necromancer was completely unprepared for this level of metaphysical warfare, and with a little gurgling scream, fell to her knees. Hands clenched in Reilly's dress shirt, she writhed on the cold floor. Her back arched, and as the horrified party watched, a trickle of blood seeped out of Anita's mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Richard screamed, moving toward the pair, but Raleigh grabbed him.

"She's breaking the vampire marks," Raleigh answered, nodding toward her sister. She watched worriedly. Reilly was a big girl, and knew the risks associated without using some sort of protection for a spell like this, but it didn't stop her sister from clutching Micah's hand like it was a lifeline.

Reilly's eyes had gone back to that lifeless black place, and the candles in the room were flickering as though blown by a hurricane. Still on her knees, Anita started to scream, and the hands that had been clutching at Reilly's shirt found her arms, and started to draw bleeding scratches on the witch. Reilly grabbed a fistful Anita's long, curly hair, and forced her eyes up. Both women gasped, and the room fell away.

Reilly was caught on the shores of a dark lake, blood lapped at her bare toes. In the center of the pool waited the mother of the night. Crouched, feral, and beckoning, the first vampire pressed against the witch with her power, and caressed her, begging. Reilly stepped into the warm waters, feeling the pull of the lives it had taken to fill this massive crater around her calves, knees, then thighs as she waded out. As her belly hit the liquid, memories assaulted her; things she could never have seen-the sacking of Rome as a feast of terror-a campfire surrounded by corpses, each piled high with furs-a young girl, turning toward her, hand outstretched, her hot, sweet blood running through Reilly's breasts, her throat tight between teeth, screams pushed past lungs filling with fluid. Reilly moaned, her nipples hardening, and she stopped before the power and blood closed over her head.

In the lake, standing on the lapping waters, the original predator howled at Reilly, clutching Anita to her breast. Suddenly understanding, Reilly swam forward, and reaching the two struggling women on the waves, she grabbed Anita, and pulled her under. With a scream, Anita slipped into Reilly's arms, and as the two women sank, Reilly pressed her mouth to Anita's. At the brush of their lips, the women were engulfed in blue fire, and crushing blood, and it was too hot to think.

Reilly resurfaced in her own mind, and looked around, bleary and shaking. Raleigh was behind her, supporting her sagging weight, cursing and screaming at someone to 'just bring the motherfucking bandages!' Still on her knees was Anita, face buried in Reilly's stomach, tears making the younger woman's belly warm. Her hands were clenched around Reilly's wrists, making her hands numb. All of this Reilly absorbed in a kind of hazy, slow motion, and with out really thinking about it, she cradled the sobbing necromancer to her, stroking the long hair. Raleigh's voice sounded in her ear, frantic and shrill.

"What the fuck were you thinking?! You both could have been killed!! I have never seen you so god damned reckless!! And stupid to fucking boot!! If you ever try another stupid ass stunt like that-" But Raleigh was cut off by an equally frantic Jean-Claude. Grabbing Reilly out of her sister's arms, he lifted her like a doll, and shook her once. Totally discomposed, Jean-Claude crushed the witch to his body, mindless of the sobbing woman between them.

"Jamais encore! Vous ne ferez encore jamais cela!" He chanted in her ear, hand tangling in her hair, "Mon dieu, never do that to me again." The vampire sunk to his knees, wrapping his body around Reilly. Becoming more aware by the second, she noticed that the room was packed, and people were frantically moving around them. Asher stood behind the trembling Jean-Claude, looking as though he were feeling faint himself. Reilly reached behind Jean-Claude, and caught a fistful of Asher's slacks. With a gentle tug, she brought him into contact with their huddle. He reached down, and pressed his mouth to Reilly's forehead.

"You do know how to frighten us, mon amour," he whispered, his hands covering Jean-Claude's where the master of the city held her.

"Anita!" Richard shrieked, for possibly the hundredth time. Reilly found she had a hard time focusing on him. With heavy blinks, she faced the werewolf.

"She's not hurt," Reilly rasped. With a frown, she cleared her throat. The werewolf, still nearly hysterical, shoved himself into the huddle, and dragged Anita out to him. Reilly surrendered the woman happily, and turned to look at her sister. Raleigh was standing with Micah, arms crossed, looking pale. Rubble coated the floor, and wax and crushed candles seemed to be covering everything. Reilly frowned more, how many people were in the room? With further discomfort, Reilly realized that there were deep gouge marks in the walls around her. She raised an eyebrow at Raleigh.

"You nearly brought down the fucking circus!" Raleigh snapped in response to her sister's look.

"What?" Reilly asked, voice still rough.

"I don't know how you fucking conjured it, but there was enough raw energy in here to rip apart St. Louis. No one could get close to you, and the fucking rocks started to shake. You two were screaming clear to the fucking moon. I thought you'd lost control of your fucking magic!" Raleigh went on, voice still a little shrill.

"What??" Reilly asked, fidgeting in Jean-Claude's arms. "Who got control of it?" She asked, now taking stock of the damages.

"You did! Suddenly you just gasped, and went all spooky, saying, 'Now I understand!' Then the energy fucking stopped. It was like a god damned light switch," Raleigh shifted her weight, looking at her sister. "What is it that you understand, huh?" Reilly's face went pale.

"Oh god, I didn't," she whispered. She struggled free of her vampires, and moved to the still distraught Anita. Placing a hand on either side of the woman's face, they looked at each other. Relief suffused Reilly's figure.

"Is it-?" Anita asked, eyes brimming.

"You're fine," Reilly answered, sitting back on her heels. Both women sighed in relief.

"Care to share with the class?" Richard snapped, cuddling Anita to him. Reilly didn't even have the energy to glare back. She stood, and addressed herself to Jean-Claude.

"Anita had been marked by the Mother of All Darkness," she said simply, watching his eyes widen.

"How many-?" Asher started, eying Anita.

"All of them. All four. I thought...I mean...." Reilly sighed, "I thought the only way to snap the marks was to rip Anita's magic out of her," she said, speaking to her bare feet. Everyone in the room stiffened.

"Rei, you didn't?" Raleigh asked, totally horrified.

"No! God no, she's fine. I managed to just bank her magic for a little while. The marks are gone. All of them," she said to Jean-Claude. Simultaneously, he and Asher held out their hands for her, and Reilly went to them, feeling like she had just got in a wrestling match with a semi truck. Heedless of the still bleeding scratches on her arms, she cuddled up to her vampires, suddenly hungry enough to eat almost anything. Sympathetically, Raleigh slid a box of food into Reilly's hands, who grasped it hungrily and devoured the contents within seconds. Jean-Claude looked at Raleigh imploringly.

"Please, stay here," Jean-Claude whispered. "I couldn't let anything befall either one of you."

Raleigh nodded and looked down at her sister, sleeping in Jean-Claude's slender arms, the container of food had fallen from her hands to the floor. She looked around the room which now clear except for the three vamps, the three weres and Anita. Richard stood with Anita, who was also sleeping, clutched to his massive chest. The wolf met Raleigh's eyes, completely void of any emotion, and simply turned and left the room quietly. Damien moved passed Raleigh to Jean-Claude and Asher. When he reached down to take Reilly, Jean-Claude flinched away possessively. Raleigh looked back at Micah and Nathaniel, finally feeling tired and achey. Micah rushed towards her, lifting her to him and burying his face against her neck.

"You and your sister both," Micah breathed softly. "you both are out of your fucking minds. Why do I love crazy women?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Night still clung to St. Louis, engulfing the city in a still and quiet darkness. Jean-Claude had taken Reilly to his personal bed chambers along with Asher. Raleigh and Micah had gotten a suite on one of the upper floors and brought Nathaniel with them. The leopards had crawled into bed, leaving Raleigh watching television on the massive couch. She laid her head on the arm of the couch and closed her eyes for a moment before feeling a hand on her head. Smiling, she opened her eyes, only to find that the hand didn't belong to her Leopard King, but to a Romanov. The younger twin gasped and leapt off the couch, slapping the hand away from her. Aleksi stood there, smiling innocently.

"My love," he whispered, theatrically spreading his arms. "Did I frighten you? Please, forgive me."

"What are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be here," Raleigh said, clutching her chest and gasping for breath to still her panicking heart.

"There was quite a power surge here earlier this night," Aleksi replied, his voice dropping dramatically. "It could only have been your sister. Very...very interesting. Now, darling woman, tell me why your sister was making such a...what do you Southerner's call it....a...ruckus."

Raleigh glared at the vampire. "It's none of your fucking business."

Aleksi crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head gracefully. "Raleigh, you know better than to talk to me like that. Remember what happened last time."

Raleigh felt the scars on her neck and back throb painfully. She did remember what happened, being strung up by her wrists for hours while being cut and whipped, her shoulders had been dislocated. Aleksi had her beaten so badly that she couldn't work and had to be taken care of. He had been determined to keep her in his debt.

"I remember," she growled. "and I can't believe that I thought you loved me, you manipulative son of a bitch."

Again, Aleksi smiled and said something in a voice as soft as a kitten. "I never knew you were a cat person Raleigh."

Raleigh's heart stopped, her lungs screamed for air. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see the bedroom door agape and on the threshold was a massive black leopard with shocking green eyes. The cat's ears were laid back, it's tail twitching, fangs bared. Raleigh's eyes flicked back to Aleksi who was admiring the cat sadistically.

"He is quite a specimen," Aleski whispered as the cat growled. "I do believe his head would look stunning in my study. Don't you agree, Raleigh?"

"Micah," Raleigh hissed warningly. "Get back in the bedroom, now."

Micah, ignoring the woman, stalked from the door and placed himself between the vampire and his Nimir-Ra. A deep growl rumbled in his throat when Aleksi smiled, baring his own fangs. Raleigh stepped forward and grabbed Micah by the thick skin on the nape of his neck, trying to yank him back to her. Micah stood his ground and the tiny witch couldn't move him.

"I think it's best that you listen to your queen, Micah," Aleksi growled. "You could get hurt."

Micah, huge and jet black, stepped toward the vampire again. In Raleigh's peripheral vision, she saw another massive leopard emerge from the bedroom. She groaned to herself thinking, "Why are leopards such fucking idiots?"

"Nathaniel. Micah!" Raleigh snapped. "Go back to the bedroom! NOW!"

Nathaniel backed into the bedroom, listening to the witch. Micah, on the other hand, lunged at Aleksi. Raleigh shrieked and tried to catch him, but he was too fast. Aleksi simply reached out and stopped the leopard, gripping him by the throat, holding him in the air. The leopard screamed, primal and raging. Raleigh quickly began summoning magic, preparing to whip the hell out of Aleksi, but suddenly Nathaniel charged from the bedroom in a blur of spotted fur. He knocked over the vampire and his leader. Raleigh shouted as Nathaniel began mauling the vampire. Micah regained his footing and joined in. Stunned, Raleigh couldn't move or believe what was happening. Blood stained the carpet as the leopards tore Aleksi's marble flesh and once again, time froze. The two leopards became still. Aleksi shoved them out of the way and rose up from the floor, his beautiful and regal face marred by thier claws and teeth. His throat was nearly torn out. Already, his wounds were beginning to heal. Raleigh's hands shot to her face, covering her mouth.

"You have faithful protection," Aleksi whispered, blood rushing from his wounds and coursing down his chest. "Luckily for you...and them, I have more important things to do. Don't worry, your sister and her lover still have time together."

With those words said, Aleksi disappeared, a vase of blood red roses in his place. Time continued at its usual pace, leaving the leopards confused and staring at Raleigh. The witch kicked over the flowers, shattering the vase. Both cats shyed away from her glare. Balling her fists, Raleigh growled at them.

"Go into that bedroom and shift...right now. Then get back in here."

Nathaniel obeyed immediately. Micah sat stubbornly. "Micah Callahan. Now."

Micah sat there and began shifting in front of her, testing her to see if she could truly accept him in the way Anita couldn't. A clear liquid gushed from the skin underneath the fur as the thick black hair disappeared back into his skin. Sickening crunches and cracks filled the room as Micah's leopard skeleton shifted back into his human form. Eventually, he sat before her on the carpet naked and covered in clear goop. Raleigh stood in front of him, unphased and seething.

"Micah, I understand that you had the best intentions but,"

"You aren't bothered by me shifting?"

"What?! No! I don't care! Micah, when I tell you to do something you need to,"

"Not at all?"

"Dammit Micah! Listen to me! When Aleski Romanov is involved you need to LISTEN TO ME!"

Nathaniel walked out of the bedroom, fully clothed and clean. Raleigh jerked her head towards him. "And you need to listen to me too!"

"Uh....I'm sorry Miss Gallion, but I have to side with Micah. You could have been in danger, so he was protecting you. Then, he was in danger, so I had to try to protect him."

"Do I look like I give a damn?!" Raleigh shrieked, her accent thickening. Micah stood up and made his way to the bedroom, leaving Raleigh and Nathaniel in the blood stained living room. Raleigh stared and the puddle of blood, then looked at Nathaniel. The young leopard stood there with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"I'm not cleaning that up," Raleigh snapped, walking passed him and into the bedroom. Micah sat on the edge of the bed, wet, clean and with a towel wrapped around his waist. His green eyes met Raleigh's as he stood up and approached her. Raleigh wanted to be angry with him, she wanted to slap him, but she knew why he didn't listen...why he will never listen.

"You could've been killed," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. "You stupid son of a bitch."

"But I wasn't...was I?"

"No...you weren't."

Micah pulled away from her so he could see her face. He smiled when he noticed her eyes watering. "Well, I couldn't tell. Whenever you're around, I'm in Heaven. I would never be able to tell if I was alive or dead."

Tears spilled from Raleigh's eyes and she smiled. "You're an idiot."

"An idiot in love."

"For the love of God," Raleigh muttered, wiping her eyes. "Shut up and kiss me."