On Came the Storm...

[Anjolie Quinn]

The rain poured outside. Sheets of it rolled violently down the hazy windows of the greenhouse as bolts of lightening connected with the ground and startled the horses in their stables. The hounds were barking at the uproar in their ever-pleasing service of keeping the masters informed of the conditions outside. Steam pressed itself against the glass as, sitting at a workbench amidst the floor of dirt, Anjolie tinkered with bottles and potions.

Tanned fingers of olive-hued skin rose to rub at the swell of very puffy, very sleepy eyes. It must have been nearly two in the morning, but the femme was still trying to finish up this last bit of business. A bottle of sulfur rested at her elbow as violet peepers narrowed in on a particularly troublesome sore on the stem of one of her hybrid plants. “Dear God, don’t be a virus,”she thought as she leaned in to further inspect the precious plant.

A dropper plopped two plump spheres of strange reddish liquid into the deep pot. A clap of thunder from a nearby bolt made the femme jump in her seat as the dropper slipped through her fingertips. The glass piece of the dropper broke on the side of the desk and sent little shards tumbling to the floor below. The femme rolled her eyes and groaned in exhaustion as she moved her chair back to try and clean up the mess. A nearby dustpan was retrieved from the side of her cabinet. She held the contraption firmly in her left hand as the right hand reached for a hand-broom and the hard bristles drug across the ground in hopes of collecting the broken shards.

The remnants of the mess were quickly taken to the nearby trash can and discarded. The femme took a moment to stretch as her violet gaze lingered momentarily on the plant. Should she finish it tonight or try again in the morning? Quinn was glancing to the porch light of the ranch house whenever the sound of a dull thud caught her ears. Squinting, she turned and looked towards the back of the garden haven to try and locate the noise she had heard. Peepers gazed down the perfectly aligned rows of floral plants, thriving shrubs, productive trees, and other botanical creations as a vine in the back caught her eye.

A look of longing was given to the ranch house and the promise of dry, comfortable cushions inside. Still, a sense of duty took over the and the femme turned lazily and headed down the third aisle towards the plant which seemed so slightly out of place. Her feet stomped along the dirt path as blood-shot eyes tried to assess the problem which was pulling her all the way to the far end of the greenhouse. A slight sigh passed her lips as she approached the out-of-place plant laying on its side.

The femme paused momentarily. She looked to the vine with curiosity etched across her face. It was one of the newer hybrids and had been classified as one of the plants she kept locked up in her private area of the greenhouse. It was, in truth, something she had been growing to gain some less than reputable profits amongst the darker variety of mages who often frequented Dorian’s boutique.

[Anjolie Quinn]

Bending down and hearing her bones crack with fatigue and stress, Anjolie reached out to the plant and pulled it upright by the sides of the pot. A grunt was given when the heavy vine was lifted into her arms and carried it towards the backroom with a sigh. The femme slowed in her saunter as she approached the door to her private area. Brows furrowed in concern and the pit dropped out of her stomach upon the sudden realization that the door was unlocked and open for any to enter.

“How on earth?” She moved closer to the door and pushed it open even further with her hip.

Very alert eyes scanned the inside of the shadow-covered room as the femme entered and immediately set down the pot on the nearest table. Cautious steps lead her into the dancing shadows of the room. Rain continued to pour on the outside of the unclear glass even as nervous fingers flipped a switch to turn on the lights. Nothing seemed out of place upon first glance and Quinn moved to deliver the vine into its proper place amidst the less than friendly rows of hybrids. The open door greatly disturbed her and she was quick to leave the room with a slight shake of her head.

The femme sauntered back into the main room of the greenhouse after being careful to lock the door behind her upon passing through. She paced along the rows of luscious plants to inspect the placement of each shrug and flower. It was so strange that the door had been unlocked. Had she simply forgotten to lock it last night? Was there something she had fetched earlier in the evening which lead her to forget to turn the key and pocket it after returning her potions to their places?

Anjolie returned to the safely and comfort of her workbench. Both hands lowered onto the edge of the desk as she stared at her sickly looking plant. It must have been at that moment when she drifted into a dream-state. The roaring thunder made her snap back to reality sharp enough to cause a stray piece of glass to be embedded in her finger. The femme winced and then looked down with a frown at the growing bead of blood now ready to stream down her finger. The rain seemed to pour ever more as her undamaged hand reached out for a nearby book.

Dirt-stained fingers flipped through the rough and yellowed pages of the great book as the femme read the words while positioning her hand so that the blood would trickle down into her palm. A simple spell with a healing incantation was spoken softly as violet eyes glanced over to watch the blood slowly clog and her skin bind itself shut once more as the tiny, glass shard fell to the table. A partial smile rose to Anjolie’s lips as she carefully took hold of the shard and carried it to the trash can.

The shard was tossed into the half-full bag of dead leaves and plastic wrappers. A sudden flash of lightening sent blinding-blue flashes across the large room. Violet peepers looked to the ranch as the bursts of energy lit up the grounds. The hazy glass seemed to hold the bright light for as long as was possible, but as the darkness returned she could swear there was a face staring back at her through the wall.

[Anjolie Quinn]

Quinn shook her head furiously and immediately went back to rubbing her eyes. This night had gone on long enough and she was obviously fatigued beyond reason. Two fingers reached out to flip the lightswitch and plunge the room into the comfortable darkness of a dream-filled night. Her left hand took hold of a nearby umbrella and her calm gaze focused on the house through the blurry sheets of pouring rain. Again, the lightening flashed and the face returned with a vengeance.

Smooth lines of a familiar face stared at Anjolie through the glass. Pure white eyes set against strange, sickly colored cheeks with long, white pieces of hair sticking to the face with the force of the rain. Sharpened canine teeth showed as black lips parted in a truly evil smile. The femme’s eyes went wide and turned red with anger. A feeling of unparalleled nauseousness crept over her as the face continued to smile back.

“No... this can’t be...” Anjolie shuddered as her hand moved to the door handle. A rough shove was given to the double-paned glass entryway. The door didn’t budge and the face on the other side smiled wider.

“Good evening, Quinn. Long time, no see.” Leathery wings stretched out behind the creature as her eyes narrowed in on the frightened femme.

“I’ve preferred it that way.” Anjolie attempted to quell the panic currently rising to her senses.

“Have you?” The demonic face of the creature tilted slightly with a smile. “You haven’t missed me, Anjolie? Haven’t missed the sisters and our love?”

[Anjolie Quinn]

The femme frowned deeply. The past years had been very effective in erasing almost all signs of the cult from her mind. It was a troubled woman who had arrived in RhyDin all those years ago. A woman who had tried to find some solace in separation from her family in the comfort of a band of sisters who worshiped the being known as Nyx.

That was where Anjolie had met the creature standing outside of the window. The Aphilliad. It was a gift to the woman meant to give her heightened magical abilities. The creature lived for many years inside a silver medallion blessed by the Sisterhood of Nyx. It was only after learning magic with the help of the Aphilliad that the femme came to realize and understand the truly evil nature of her sister-being.

A crane... that was the symbol on the medallion. Quinn stood perfectly still there in the greenhouse as a flood a memories returned to cloud her senses. A tear streaked down her cheek as she looked to the Aphilliad and her sickening smile still staring back through the glass.

“What do you want, creature?” Anjolie gathered her courage to ask even as she feared she knew the answer deep down inside.

“We had an agreement, Quinn. I left you, didn’t I? What did you sacrifice to purge yourself of my presence, dear child?” The smile managed to spread even further across the Aphilliad’s face.



The color drained even more from the femme’s face as she looked down to the dirt. A rough shove was given to the door in a sudden burst of anger. Outside, in the rain, the creature laughed wickedly and shook her head. The creature knew very well that Anjolie recalled their agreement.

“It was your choice, Quinn. You always knew that it was a your choice. You broke your part of the bargain and Nyx has sent me to collect on your reconciliatory fees.”

Anjolie furiously shook her head back and forth. “No... you said that I couldn’t do it. That I would be unable to do it. You never once told me that it was my choice.”

“Do not lie to yourself, sister. You ran whenever you found out. You ran away from him and away from the world to hide yourself, didn’t you?” The creature raised its hands and pressed them lightly against the glass. Inside the greenhouse the femme was crying.

“No, you cannot do this! You CANNOT!” Her own hands raised to beat against the glass with all the energy she had in her body.

[Anjolie Quinn]

“You should have known better, Anjolie, and now you will pay the price for the choice you made.” The creature pulled away from the glass with a sorrowful look to her former sister. Demonic wings stretched out to their full expanse before the Aphilliad turned to face the ranch house. A glance was given to Quinn over her shoulder before a jump propelled her into the air.

“NO! Stay away from them!! NO!!!!” Anjolie stumbled back at few steps before running herself full-speed into the door. It did not budge. A bolt of lightening lit up the sky and the creature soaring to the second floor of the country home. The sound of thunder went silent at the incantation being muttered softly by the creature. Quinn screamed as loud as she could in hopes of waking Elizabeth or Hank or anyone currently dozing inside the house. The thick walls of her precious garden haven muted the sound of her screams.

The femme ran for her workbench and the thick books tucked safely away to the side of her desk. A faded binding of deep, red leather was grasped and then slammed onto the wooden space in front of her. A thousand frantic thoughts raced across her mind as, in the darkness, the Aphilliad went to the task of finding the payment for the sins of the fallen sister.

Quinn’s eyes, now thoroughly gray with her sorrow, focused on the antique pages and the foreign tongues of the spells she had hoped would aid her in this cause. Even as her brain processed the many spells, flashes of her previous life danced across her eyes in terrifying clarity.

The femme remembered the night when she had forsaken the Sisterhood of Nyx... the night when she had begged for mercy and the release of possession by the creature, Aphilliad. It was late and she had been traveling. There were trees all around her and the moon was out and full in the sky. The creature had been trying to persuade the femme to return to the Sisterhood. To return to the security of their house and the love of her sisters.

The creature was furious with Anjolie for wanting to leave. Did she not care about the creature despite all the wonderful things she had given her the power to achieve since her arrival here in this strange land? Was the lure of power and fantasy not the perfect life for a woman from such a hum-drum beginning? It was what the femme had always wanted. She was respected and she was loved by her sister and by the creature.

In the darkness she had asked the creature to leave her. The Aphilliad went into a rage as it leapt from the medallion and into physical form before the femme. They had screamed and shouted at each other for hours on end. It was at that moment whenever the Aphilliad summoned the power of the deity whom they served. This was the first true sign of existence Anjolie had ever seen of the lunar goddess, Nyx.

Words were whispered as the femme felt her body shake violently with the spells. The demonic creature hovered above her with venomous words lashing out to strike at the femme’s core. The Aphilliad would leave her beloved sister, but there would be a price to pay. It was there, in the darkness, when the vows of Sisterhood were broken and the punishment was bestowed. The creature clasped its terrible talons around her shoulders as the blood-binding agreement was struck. The creature would leave her in exchange that this fallen sister would live her life as a barren woman. Never would she know the bond of close, sisterly presence again and never would she know preciousness of a mother’s love as Nyx has supposedly loved the femme.

[Anjolie Quinn]

In the greenhouse, through a veil of running tears, the femme tried to find a spell to save her child from the clutches of the twisted justice of the Aphilliad. The words jumped from her lips with uncertain pronunciation as the demonic creature laughed in the night air. She could hear the summoning from the femme’s lips even as her sharpened talons wrapped around the tiny arms of the sleeping child within the second-floor bedroom of the simple ranch house.

“Let her flesh not be torn. Let her blood leave no stain. If she’s beaten, let her feel no pain. Let her bones never break and however it’s tried to destroy her... let her never die. God, let her never die.” The mantra filtered through the femme’s mind as her lips spoke the written incantation on the page.

Outside, the Aphilliad let loose a roaring shriek of glee. Blood streaked down from the cuts on the arms of the child, Kallie, as she cried and screamed in pain and fright. Anjolie felt her heart begin to break even as she shouted the incantation at the creature now circling the greenhouse from the air. Even as the spell began to take effect, the femme was only growing in her anger. The book from which she was reading was hurled with such force and conviction at the side of the greenhouse wall that the glass shattered and allowed an opening for the femme to run out into the rain.

The spell was screamed with even more conviction as both eyes of glowing crimson targeted the airborne creature with her daughter held firmly it is grasp. The Aphilliad merely shook her head with a frown as she saw the suffering of her former sister. Gaunt fingers reached into the air as pure, white eyes inspected the green bundle she had stolen from the back of the femme’s garden haven. The leaves were forced into the open mouth of the child. Anjolie continued to scream as the creature kept her place in the air.

Within a matter of minutes Kallie went limp in the arms of the creature. It became suddenly obvious that the door was left open for a reason. The herbs put the child into a coma-like state. As the forbidden-babe was incapacitated the creature swooped down to the shouting femme now writhing with anger and hatred.

“Release my daughter!” An arm being swung at the demonic creature as she soared down towards the femme. The flailing arm was caught and twisted with a growl from the Aphilliad.

“She is not yours any longer, Anjolie Quinn. This is your payment for your vows. The child goes to Nyx and your long-forgotten Sisterhood.” The creature’s white eyes almost burned the femme with their very stare.

“We made you who you are, sister. Now your debt has been paid.” Anjolie sent another arm towards the creature on a collision course with her head.

“She is my child! For Nyx’s sake, please let her go!” The femme cried even as she felt her arm on the brink of being broken.

[Anjolie Quinn]

The creature snarled in anger. “You threw away your goddess for the fatherly love of your Christian deity. Never again shall you invoke the mercy of the goddess you rejected!” Taloned fingers wrapped around the femme’s throat and the struggling beat of leathery wings pulled them both into the air.

Sharpened canine teeth bit into the femme’s lower lip to muffle her screams. Quinn’s hands were scratching frantically at the throttling of her neck. A cruel look was given to the fallen sister by the creature before she called upon her dark magic. The feeling of fire coursing through her veins caused the femme to scream in horrific pain. The Aphilliad felt this new power erupting in her body as the color drained slowly from the femme’s tanned skin.

The demonic creature released her biting hold on the femme’s face and let out a roar as the remaining magic within Anjolie’s body. The strange mixture of red and gray slipped sadly from her eyes as the choke-hold was ended and the femme’s body sent plummeting back down to the soggy ground below. Blood painted her now alabaster skin pink and red with its running stream. The shock pulled the femme into an unconscious state as the creature shook her head in pity at the fallen sister now sprawled pathetically across the ground.

A strange sort of kiss was blown to the broken and beaten Quinn. A wave of ashes moved across the femme’s tortured body for only a moment as she slept. With the child in her arms the creature lifted her spell of silence from the house and flew far from the scene and into the comfort of the shadows.

The storm continued to rage across the countryside, but the rain would not be powerful enough to wash away her sins...

[Cory]

The storms and showers started to slow somewhat as the hours began to turn the night into day. Mud and blood mixed on the ranch grounds as the femme lay unconscious and locked in a state of grief and nightmares. The demonic creature had been gone for quite some time and the only person currently aware of the kidnapping other than the femme was Kallie's familiar. The special necklace given to the child by her aunt Illusia glowed furiously on the child's dresser as the magical entity tried to summon himself without the assistance of his little mistress. The dogs had silenced in their baying and even the horses were still, but both could sense that something was thoroughly amiss.

Rolling thunder in the distance rousted Cory from his sleep. The sheets around him still cold from lack of his cherished. It would seem commonplace at this time. He knew where Quinn was, but the the passing storm raised his concerns. Her greenhouse was sturdy and solidly built. Still he worried, something pinged within his chest. A sharp pain, an emptiness pulled him awake. Then comforter was thrown off his body. Stepping over to the only chair in the room he slipped into the plainly colored tee and pair of denim meant for tomorrow morning. Then out the room he went, upon leaving his room he felt the breeze coming from down the hall. Something he must investigate.. step by step he came to the source of the cold.

Blearly eyes narrowed on the glow eminating from beyond the creases of Kallie's door. As not to wake the babe he carefully opened the door. The light was blinding, there was no doubt Kallie should be awake if within the walls, but her bed lay empty. That did not bode well with the southerner. He left the door ajar.. maybe Kallie had slipped downstairs for a glass of water? The current of air from the open window whipped through the curtains. The glowing light showed the water dripping from the windowsill to a rather large puddle on the floor. The necklace continued to pulsate as Lester knew that his mistress's father was near.

Outside the window was only darkness and silence. A few strikes of lightening in the distance showed the typical silhouettes of the ranch and the shadow-filled greenhouse beyond. Cory knew now windows would ever be left open on a stormy night. Glittering lights below the sil and he saw the broken glass. Further unsettling to him. Thoughts raced a mile a minute as he left the hall and bounded down the stairs. Through the dark he swerved and nearly skipped until he skidded through the kitchen to the back door. Barefoot, he plowed through the door and stormscreen inbetween. The departing rain left a chilling breeze in the air, but something he was accustomed to. The night was pitch black, barely a ray of light from the moon through the clouds. Lights in the greenhouse were out, further signs for fret.

[Cory]

One of the window panes from the greenhouse was missing and broken glass was scattered across that side of the building. It was in the midst of the broken glass where the femme lay in the midst of her pain. White skin would be easy to catch if even a single beam of light crossed the grounds. Still, it was an eerie thing that there was no sound. Even the dogs did not bark at the noise made by Cory rushing outside. Upstairs, Elizabeth stirred from her sleep at having heard some commotion from the stairwell. She lay in the bed and debated as to whether or not it was needed for her to get up. It could have just been someone on a bathroom run.

Hard to dismiss the mound of shadow amongst glistening shards of glass and puddles of water. Cory literally lept from the back porch and sloshed through the muck and mud. "QUINN!" As he screams a clap of thunder shook the very ground. In a baseball-esque slide he came along side his wife. Disregarding the the razors edge of glass. What at first appeared as splashes of mud grew much darker. Crimson mixed with rainwater and tears streaking down her face. Large hands caressed down her cheek. Large hands caressed down her face, a subtle, tender showing of worry admist this time of anxiety. "Quinn..."

Anjolie's skin was cool to the touch, but not completely cold. She was alive. No movement was given at the touch or the sound of his voice. The femme's body was limp in his grasp. The scream he made did, however, stir Elizabeth to the point of leaping to attention from her bed. The woman rushed to the upstairs windows to peer into the darkness. She saw nothing, but soon was heading downstairs while biting her lip. She was worried at the noise and the chill running in a line through the ranch house. The lightening lit up the grounds faintly and it was fairly obvious that there had been a struggle across the grounds.

Cory lifted her head. Frantic, desperate touches to her cheek, the wounds on her neck. He smeared away the blood as best he could. The scene made no sense to him. Why would a wall of the greenhouse be shattered? The cuts and abrasions didn't fit together. And her skin, a chakly, ghostly white. Panic coursed through his body as he continued attempts to rouse his wife with soft whispers. "Please... please wake up." At first, the femme did not move. The light on the back porch was flipped on as Elizabeth slid through the door. Her voice carried loudly across the distance between them. "Cory? That you?" A pause as she noticed the rather large hole in the greenhouse wall. "Cory, what's goin' on?" Then inching towards the steps that lead down to the back lawn. The woman noticed the figure being cradled carefully through the darkness. Her eyes went wide in fear.

[Cory]

In his haste Cory had failed to retrieve any first aid materials. At the familiar voice ringing through the air Cory barked back orders. His voice still noticably shaken. "Fetch me a dry cloth! Hurry!" Masculine arms slithered underneath the joints her Quinn's knees and her neck. Fueled by his adrenaline he lifted the petite femme without effort. Her limp stature caused inceased worry. Dearly did he cradle his wife to his chest as he stood in the muck. Cleaniness was the least of his worries, and should be the last on Elizabeth's mind as he plodded up the porch steps.

For the first time in her life Elizabeth made no contradiction to the command being shouted from the darkness. The woman turned upon heel and went into the kitchen to fetch two rags: one dry and one wet. Her voice carried through the house like a shrill siren.:: "HANK!! HANK!! WE NEED HELP!!!" She turned and moved to open the backdoor. The face she saw covered in this pale skin was that of Quinn. Elizabeth looked to Cory sharply and then darted to get out of his way. "Oh, God... what happened? Is she alive?" The blood and scratches across her throat were easy to see in this lighting.

"I don't know." Choked past his tears, and he carefully slinked into the kitchen. Heaven help him later, but he tracked through and led the rush to the comfort of couch cushions. There Anjolie was laid to rest with utmost care. Elizabeth handed over the specified cloths as Hank came thundering down the stairs. "Wha's all the commotion!? It ain't even sunrise!" It didn't take him long to see the hard look from Liz and the limp, muddied figure of Quinn laid out on the couch. Instinct kicked in and Hank scurried to the bathroom to fetch to first aid kit. Meanwhile, Cory busied himself cleaning away the taint of the earth. "Please..." Still pleading to the lifeless Quinn. "Please wake up."

The old biddy moved to the kitchen with her red fleece nightgown catching a surprising amount of static along the way. She flung open the cabinet of home remedies and shouted over her shoulder. "Hank, call the emergency center. We are gonna need help righ' away..." A bottle and two rolls of gauze were retrieved from the white, wooden medicine chamber. The bottle, bearing the label "Ether", was tossed to Cory as Elizabeth then moved and headed for the stairs. "Hold it under her nose for five seconds... I'm gonna go get th' baby."

[Cory]

Highly attuned he snatched the bottle mid-travels. Then taking the dry cloth he doused it with the nasal irritant and wafted it under Quinn's nose. Still mentally praying she wasn't too far gone. Elizabeth's jaw was rigid as she sprinted up the stairs. The pulsing purple light made her brow furrow with concern. Charlie was moving for the stairs as she passed him in the hallway. "There has been an accident... go an' help." Elizabeth then continued into the bedroom to search for Kallie. Downstairs, the smell of ether worked its way into the femme's senses. Two eyes of a faded golden-champagne color fluttered open as a bit of blood was coughed up and onto very dry and cracked lips. The femme's chest heaved with terror and pain as her body shook violently.

Hank returned with a pre-prepared white box of gauze and alcohols. He knelt beside Cory and riffled through, hands shaking with the excitement of the moment until he freed the absorbant cloth and offered it to the southerner. "Here, wrap it 'roun 'er neck. She'll bleed ta death." Cory was quick to obey, desperate and needing he pressed the gauze to Anjolie's neck. A fourth set of clomping feet rushed down the stairs. Everyone was involved in the rescue efforts now. Chuck, though, could only watch on in horror as he arrived too late and shouted obscenities. Cory put forth his best smile as one concerned husband could. Heavy hands pressed back against her shoulder to hold her in place. "Breathe slow, love. In and out. In and out." He watched helplessly, breaking apart inside. "What happened?"

The blood was, surely enough, draining from her mouth and neck with a steady stream. Anjolie's eyes narrowed in on her husbands face and, as she watched him, she realized that this had not been a dream. Alien eyes went wide with panic as tears suddenly burst from the edges of those changed peepers and ran quickly down both cheeks. "Kallie.. " Her voice cracked from the bruising caused to her throat, sideways glances even more frantic as her mind raced. "Kallie... sh-she.. took KALLIE!" The beaten and battered body of the femme suddenly sprang to life as the fight-or-flight mechanism sprang into place once more.

Upstairs, Elizabeth was checking every nook and cranny of the torn-apart room and she immediately began to cry. She didn't want to believe this was happening, but she wasted no time in running back to the stairs. Cory's heart fell to his stomach at Anjolie's broken screams rang through the house. Both Hank and Chuck staggered back. All vocal capibilites erased from their throats. Cory, however was more vocal and forceful as ever. Pressing back against her struggles to keep her restrainted and further opening her wounds. "Who? She who?" All traces of that beloved accent gone. All that was left was a gravely growling tone. Throughout the commotion he had heard no cries of pain from their child. There one dearest child, an explaination behind the busted window and light from Lester's amulet. He tried to hold Anjolie in place, dark brown eyes filled with moistened sorrow. "Please be still. Who?"

[Cory]

The further opening of her wounds sent etchings of agony across her bright, white skin. Elizabeth arrived at the bottom of the stairs and kept quiet while listening to this interaction. She sent Chuck to go and wait at the door for signs of the ambulance. The femme was hardly able to speak as tears streaked down her face with amazing force. The salt from her crying made her scratched-up face burn even more. "The Aphilliad... she took her...I-I did not mean to let this happen. I... oh, God... Kallie." The femme started to choke with her throat swelling and the blood from her mouth running back down to block the airway. "I'm so, so sorry... my Kallie... my Cory." The shaking of her body began once more and her eyes were on the verge of rolling into her head as a defensive move.

Gauze were used to soak up the blood. Cory used his own fingers and lips to erase traces of tears from Anjolie's cheek. How he wished he were deafened to the world at this time. Anjolie's words were confusing... Who was this Aphilliad? Was it somehow related to her time served with Havior? That didn't matter, he pressed a cheek to her own. Nuzzling with intent to comfort, but who could be possibly comfort a mother who lost her child? Who could comfort a father who lost his child? At the least, he stil had her. Anjolie was wake, alive. Conscious. But Kallie... "I don't understand." He didn't care, he'd kill anyone who laid a hand upon his princess.

Chuck returned from the front porch to announcement that the ambulance was speeding down the driveway. Elizabeth tried hard not to cry infront of the distraught Quinn and Hank placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. Anjolie shook her head roughly as those strange eyes looked back to her dearest husband. "The Sisterhood... I wasn't supposed to have her...." Then feeling the strain of her words as she began to cough up more blood in hopes of clearing her throat so that she might breathe. "I'm so sorry...." The sounds of sirens blared from outside the front door as the femme groaned and spat a wad of blood to the floor. The hands of her husband were both a blessed comfort and a terrible reminder of her building guilt.

He quickly noted the lack of vibrant color in Anjolie's eyes. Even the gray was missing, he saw only her true color. It should be a time to rejoice, but now wasn't the case. He made no attempts to avoid the congealed blood ejected from her throat. Better or worse, thick and thin he made his vows. So he his clothes were covered in mud and blood. They could be replaced. Anjolie and Kallie he could never hope to replace. "Don't say you're sorry." He didn't want to press Anjolie in her current state, but her actions and words only presented more questions. "What is this sisterhood? Who are they? Why should you not have Kallie?" Words pressing, digging...

[Cory]

It was at that moment when the medics came rushing through the front door. Two men carrying duffle bags and a stretcher were accompanied by a professional healer. Chuck was trying to explain the injuries and stay out of the way. As they moved into the living room Anjolie's eyes widened once more in fright. She did not want Cory to leave her side for even an instant. And what if they put her back to being unconscious? What if they sedated her? The femme knew that now was the time to gather all of her strength and call upon some clarity. Watery orbs of faded gold looked to the dark brown counterparts of her husband. "Cory.. my medallion... the blue crane. I need the medallion to find her..." One of the medics begged with Quinn to relax and keep quiet as they rounded the couch and looked to Cory for permission to treat her.

Cory was itching to fight. Agitated and frightened, much like a river gator, Cory lashed out at the uniformed men. Get lost you @#$%ing pansies! He was fiercely protective. If you weren't Golden Sun staff. you were not allowed within a foot of Anjolie. The EMS jumped back, their arms held high in the air as a defensice mechinism. "We're only here to help,sir! Please let us do our work. They reacted cooly, they had delt with the likes of Cory before. "..We know what we're doing here." Chocolate brown eyes snapped back to Anjolie at her words. A medallion? Imediately he searched her person for the necklace.

"Upstairs... break the blue orb on the vanity...." The words breathy as the medics closed in on her. Elizabeth moved close to take hold of Anjolie's hand in hopes of keeping everyone calm as these events took place. Hank and Chuck hung back and waited for directions. The healer, for his part, pulled a potion from his pouch. Anjolie was entirely too frantic for her own good and the only way they were going to be able to treat and assess her injuries was going to be through sedation and restraint. The stretcher was edged up alongside the couch and the medics waited for the right chance to get in there and move the femme whenever her husband was not in the immediate proximity.

[Cory]

Cory shoved the medical help out of his way with a growl. Chuck and Hank gave a nod between the two. A mutual understanding to keep to Cory at bay. He was becoming more a hinderance than help. Stomping steps announced his disappearance uptairs, the two most trust ranchhands took position to block the enraged man upon his return. Frantically, he ravaged the shelves of Quinn's vanity until he located the golden medallion bearing the symbol of the blue crane. He left their bedroom in a state of dissary. Steps? What steps? They were virtually a slide at this point as he heedlessly careened down and bowled through the roadblock of his trusted friends.

One medic was carefully keeping Quinn's neck steady as the other kept her legs aligned. The healer stood in the middle and all three were moving in unison to lay the femme on the stretcher. The move caused her to wince and moan pain. Elizabeth did her best to keep from crying as she watched the pain of her dear friend. "We are taking her to the hospital. One person can come along in our vehicle." Elizabeth looked to the rapid approach of Cory and tried to keep Quinn calm with a gentle squeeze to her hand. "I betrayed the goddess... Nyx... and she sent the Aphilliad to retrieve payment of my debt..." The words were almost a whisper, but Elizabeth listened closely and then reeled back as Cory approached. The medics looked carefully to each other.

Hank and Chuck proved to be no pushover. They held their ground and Cory in place even as he fought. Elbows, fists, knees. Any body part became a weapon when he saw Quinn transferred to the stretcher. "Let her go!" Chuck was the first to cave. He delt with bucking bronco's, but Cory was a caged bull. Hank was no match now against the full fury of Cory. Hank parted and the southerner was quick to rejoin Quinn aside the stetcher. The golden medallion laid to rest against her sterum "I go with her." That sounded more like an order than an option. Even then he caught tail ends of her words with Elizabeth. "Nyx? Debt?" Lovingly he clutched her hand as the medic secured the straps around Anjolie's legs and chest.

[Cory]

The femme was still crying weakly as she looked to her side and the presence of her husband. Elizabeth ran to the kitchen to fetch the keys so that she and the boys could go to the hospital as soon as they made a pit-stop at the police station. Ghostly white fingers reached up to try and grab the medallion, but they were denied by the restraints now being attached. The healer waited for no permission and hooked the bottle to a sprayer. A spritz of bright blue liquid wafted across her mouth in tiny fragments of cool liquid. The next breath she took pulled the moist air into her lungs and her breathing was almost immediately being regulated more smoothly and slowly. The femme gave a sorrowful look to her husband. "Nyx... the sisterhood... Aphilliad has..her." Anjolie struggled to continue speaking, but she was cut-out as her eyes rolled shut and her hand went limp in his grasp.

He would personally escort the emprisoning stretcher housing his wife to the ambulance. He knew drugs were used for sedation. but clutched ever tighter. Peacefully resting or tormented by further nightmares he would always be there. The medics and healer took positions at either side of the raised, padded bed and rolled her out the door. Cory remaind in step, moving the medallion from Quinn's chest to curl it within her grasp. She may be unconscious, but Quinn performed many miracles withouth her own knowledge. Mayhaps some sign would come to light.

Cory read the name tags of the medics as "Evans" and "Sumatra". Should anything happen he would hold both personally responsible as they loaded her into the back of the vehicle. Further putting himself in the way Cory climbed in before the rest. To them, Quinn was just a body count. For Cory, she was his world. Sedation was the last he wanted to see. There was so much left to know. "You'll be fine now, love. You'll be fine. We'll get her back." Never one to shed tears, tonight called for such. He nestled his face against her cheek.