{The People's language}
~ mental communication
_emphasis_

 Stanley Ray Kowalski glared at his partner and friend, Benton Fraser. "Fraze? Why
are we here?"

 "Well Ray, man has been asking that question for millennia..."

 "Fraser, the thing that worries me is that you are probably _not_ being sarcastic. I
meant why are we, _specifically_, here in _this_ area. Hell! Most _crack dealers_ won't
come into this neighborhood."

 "Ms. Hollows got worried when Ms. Green did not answer her phone, and asked
us to check on Ms. Green for her. It never hurts to be neighborly, Ray."

 "Fraze. Neither of us lives here."

 "Well, I _used_ to."

 "Somehow, that seems less than logical Fraze. And why couldn't she come down
here herself?"

 "She doesn't have a vehicle, Ray."

 "At the moment, neither do we."

 "You are the one who decided to park there, Ray."

 "I'm not parking my car here! It'd be stripped for parts before we could blink
twice!"

 "Oh dear."

 "What?! What?!"

 "Ms. Green's Apothecary is closed."

 "So?"

 "She is usually open until nine on weeknights. It's only eight."

 "So, I suppose we're gonna check it out, huh."

 "Well, it's only right that we do so Ray."

 "Right. So, how're we gonna get in?"

 "Ms. Hollows gave me a key."

 Ray rolled his eyes. "Well why didn't you say so in the first place?!"

 Fraser rang the doorbell. There was no answer. Ray sighed. "Right then. Lets go
Fraze."

 "Well Ray, I'm not sure of legalities here..."

 "Look Fraser. Not only did Green's best friend send us here to check on her, she
once told _both_ of us we were welcome in her home."

 "Well, yes Ray, she did. However, I'm not sure that this is what she meant..."

 Ray leaned against the door, preparing his arguement and fell through the portal.
The door was unlocked and ajar. Fraser sent Ray a serious look. "Oh dear."

 Ray picked himself up, and the two men cautiously entered the house. The main
floor was used as Ivy's shop and was filled with shelves that smelled faintly of flowers and
herbs. The whole thing was dark, and the shades were pulled over the large front
windows. The stairs were lit by a faint, flickering light. There was no sound.

 Upstairs, it could be seen that the light was being cast by two candles, both of
them a silvery blue and smelling of something faintly astringent. The candles bracketed the
stairs, and seemed almost to be standing guard.

 Ray listened carefully, and heard the sound of someone moving in a room down
the hall. He and Fraser exchanged a long glance, then the two separated, and came at the
closed door from opposite directions. Ray peeked carefully into the room, only to see Ivy
Green, surrounded by a circle of candles, and looking like she was asleep standing up. Ray
relaxed as he noticed that the room held no one else. There was no threat.

 Fraser relaxed along with Ray. "Is Ms. Green all right?"

 "Yah. She looks like she's meditating or somethin'."

 Ivy's eyes opened and she was looking at Ray, only she wasn't precisely. It was
like she was looking through him. "You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. _He's_ hunting
tonight. A Blood Moon..."

 Ray blinked in confusion. "What? What're you talkin' about?"

 Fraser tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out the window. "Perhaps she
refers to that?"

 As Ray followed Fraser's gesture, he noticed that what had been a clear night
when he'd entered the shop had become overcast. The crescent moon, which had been
shining as silvery-white as the Cheshire Cat's grin, was now a deep scarlet. The color of
blood.

 Ray turned back to Ivy. She was staring at the moon, fear in her expression. "The
Blood Moon. Someone is going to die tonight."

 Ray shook his head. This was getting creepy. "Ivy? What the hell're you talkin'
about?"

 His phone rang. He snapped it open. "Vecchio. This better be good!"

 Detective Huey's voice answered him. "Vecchio, get down to the park at 32nd.
There's been a murder, and it's a _hell_ of a mess."

 Ray agreed numbly, and then stared at Ivy. She was staring back, the strangely
empty look still on her face. Ray sighed. "Look. Ya can't stay here like this. I'll drop ya
off at Anne's and she and Baker can take care of ya."

 As he and Fraser led the un-protesting woman through the dark store, but he
couldn't shake her words from his head. '_He's_  hunting tonight....'

 Ray turned his back, while Fraser and Mort examined the corpse. "Geeze. What'd
this guy _do_ to her?!"

 Mort shook his head sadly. "It seems she was skinned alive. From chin to feet.
Quite carefully. All but her face. Whoever did this, was good at it. He seems to
have...completed his task all in one piece. Rather like peeling an apple with out breaking
the strip."

 Ray's complexion went green. "I coulda done without the comparison there,
Mort."

 Fraser tilted his head to one side. "I wonder how Ms. Green knew of this."

 Ray shook his head. "Come on Fraze. What're the odds that Green was refering to
this paticular murder? I mean this was done, like,  _while_ we were talking with her. How
could she have known?"

 "That is precisely what I want to know, Ray. Perhaps we should ask."

 Anne and Baker stared at the shuddering Ivy. "Ivers? What happened? Ray looked
totally creeped out when he brought you in. I called you like fifty times and you never
answered the phone. What's going on?"

 Ivy shivered even harder. Baker ran into the bedroom and got a quilt to wrap
around the woman. He spoke softly to Anne in his slightly flat voice. "She's in shock. I
think she _saw_ something."

 Ivy nodded and tried to speak through chattering teeth. "I did. Something... I've
been having a _bad feeling_ all week, and then I saw the Blood Moon, and so I tried to
meditate, and figure out what my subconscious was trying to tell me, you know? And then
it was like, suddenly I was drowning. There was this darkness all around me and I couldn't
breathe and screaming, screaming, screaming, screaming..."

 Anne slapped her. She stopped chanting, and the terrified look in her eyes faded.
"Thanks. I needed that."

 "So, you got sucked into something bad. This isn't the first time, you've
accidentally been mental witness to murders before. They got you upset, but never this
bad. So, again, why is _this_ one different?"

 "I don't know. I didn't really _see_ things. Not the way I normaly do anyways. It's
evil, whatever it is. It's evil, and it's hunting for something."

 Fraser watched as Ray blinked at Ms. Green. "You're what?"

 Ivy sighed. "Psychic. I see things, hear things, talk to dead people. That sort of
thing."

 "That is, like, _totally_ unbelievable."

 "Yeah, well so's your life been, lately. You are hardly in a position to believe
_anything_ is impossible."

 Fraser wondered why she seemed to be directing meaningful glances at Anne. It
must have something to do with the whole 'Ice incident' as Ray had taken to calling it.

 "Well son. You seem to have stumbled across something rather nasty here."

 Fraser repressed a sigh. His father was the _last_ person he wanted to see right
now. He blinked, unable to conceal his shock when both Ms. Green and Mr. Baker turned
and spoke to the ghost of his father.

 "Robert, now is not the time..."

 " Bob Fraser, if you don't stop bugging me, I'm going to figure out a way of
slapping the dead! See if I don't!"

 Ray groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Great. Now everyone's talkin to
people who aren't there."

 Anne grinned at him and shrugged. "I'm just as glad I can't see or hear him. From
what they have said, he sounds annoying. How on earth did you stand him, Fraser?"

 Fraser looked just faintly stunned. "Well, I didn't really see him very often..."

 His father just stood and stared at Baker. "I knew Ivy could see me, but if you're
going to say _you're_ related to me..."

 Mr. Baker sighed. "Buck Frobisher isn't related to you and _he_ can see you. I'm
a Shaman. Dealing with the dead is part of my duties."

 Ivy glared at the ghost. "And I'm just unlucky."

 Fraser hesitantly joined the conversation. "Fascinating as it is that you can both see
him, could we get back to the murder?"

 Ivy sighed and nodded. "Right. First off, I have _no_ clue what I said. I remember
settling down in the circle, and then suddenly Anne was shoving a tea cup into my hands.
However, you say I said something, so I'd like to know what it was."

 Fraser nodded. "You said: 'You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous. _He's_ hunting
tonight.'

 Ray confirmed this. "Yeah. Then ya said somethin about how it was a 'Blood
Moon' and that someone was gonna die tonight. Then my phone went off, and sure
enough, someone had."

 Anne blinked. "Blood Moon. That's a bad omen. Terrible things happen under a
Blood Moon. But last night was a sliver moon. Blood Moons are only at _full_ moon, and
only once every one thousand years!"

 Ivy shrugged. "Don't ask _me_, it's _your_ spiritual beliefs! I'm just a channel and
all that..."

 Baker tilted his head to one side, a gesture that reminded Ray of Fraser.

"Detective?"

 "Yeah?"

 "_Was_ the moon red?"

 "Yeah. Creepy as hell, too. When we went into her house, it was normal, we
looked out her window, and there it was. Weird."

 Ivy sighed. "Well, I'm exhausted. I'm going to sack out Anne, if you don't mind
my using your couch?"

 "Go ahead. We'll talk more in the morning."

 Ivy nodded wearily. She turned to Fraser and Ray. "Thank you for checking in on
me, and taking care of me when I was out of it."

 "A pleasure to help, ma'am."

 "Don't mention it."

 Ray watched Ivy leave the room. She was walking slowly, and she seemed to have
collapsed in on herself. He realized that she was actually a very short woman. Her
personality was usually so overpowering that you didn't notice her size. But at the
moment, none of her vivacity and energy was evident. She looked defeated. For some
reason, that _really_ bothered Ray.
 
 

 Frannie glared at him. "This is our new Civilian Aide, Ray. I'm training her in, so if
ya don't mind..."

 Ivy smiled slightly up at him. "I decided it was time I was gainfully employed.
Besides, I'm a little board, rattling around in that giant building all day, by myself."

 Ray read between the lines of that and translated it into 'I'm afraid to be by myself
all day with a psycho killer on the lose.'

 It had only been a week since the first murder, and in that time, there had been four
more victims found skinned alive. The media had latched onto it, and people were _really_
frightened. Pressure was really on them to solve this case, and fast.

 Ray sighed. "Well, since you're so on the ball today, Frannie, could ya possibly tell
me where the coroner's report is?"

 Ivy bounced up and handed him a file. "Right here Ray. I've been waiting for you
to come in so I could give it to you! I wouldn't want it to get lost on your desk, after all. I
think a _person_ could get lost and die in that mess, more or less a file..."

 Ray sighed and reached out to grab the file, trying to ignore Ivy's blathering.
'Actually, it's kinda comfortin to hear her babble. Must mean she's gettin back to normal.'

 In the process of being handed, the file dropped, and the pictures within were
scattered on the floor. Ivy immediately dropped to her knees, and began to gather them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm such a klutz lately and I don't know _what's_ wrong with me, and
this is a horrible way to start my first day of work, and you must think I'm a total..."

 Ivy's voice trailed off as she stared at the files in shock. Ray sighed. "Ivy, ya
shouldn't be looking at the forensic photos. Hell, _I_ don't look at em if I can help it."

 Ivy shook her head slowly, pale as a sheet. "No Ray. You don't understand. I
_know_ all these people. They're my friends. They were all at my party. The one where
we first met. I knew _all_ these people."

 Ray had to leap forward to catch her as she passed out.

Ivy could hear voices discussing her. They sounded kinda fuzzy, but she could pick out
what was going on.

 "So, she said she knew 'em all and that they were at that party of hers. So _that's_
the link in the victims. The killer is pickin people who were at Ivy's party."

 "Detective Vecchio. You're telling me that the one thing all these victims had in
common is a familiarity with our new Civilian Aide?"

 Ivy stirred weakly. "No. That's not the _only_ link. They were also all 'Gifted'.
You know, Wiccan, Holistic, New Age, that sorta thing. They were all people who had
'Talent'."

 "Huh?"

 "People thought they could do magic. You know, psychics, witches, that sorta
thing. They all had a reputation for success at that stuff."

 "So it's possible that the guy is goin for, like, psychics and stuff?"

 "Yes."

 "That would make you a prime target, Green."

 Ivy shuddered. "Yes. It would."
 

 A week later, and another four victims. All of them friends of Ivy's. Ray, Fraser,
Anne, and Baker had taken to spending evenings with Ivy, so she wouldn't be alone. She
was taking the murders of her friends very badly, and Ray figured she was probably feeling
guilty because, one way or another, she seemed to be the only real connection between all
the victims. Moreover, each victim was progressively closer to her. Ray was worried that
the killer was just working his way up the ladder, and the Ivy was his final target. That
worry was actually starting to nag at him constantly.

 That worry frightened him as well. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but
sometime in the last two and a half weeks, this small woman's well-being had become
_very_ important to him. The only other people he cared about this much were his parents
and Fraser!

 At any rate, tonight Fraser had to escort the Ice Queen to some diplomatic
function, and Anne said that she and Baker had 'clan business' to attend to, whatever that
meant, so it was just Ray and Ivy at her house.

 "Ray? Ray are you all right? You're frowning."

 "Huh? Oh, sorry Ivy."

 "That's okay."

 A brief silence. " Hey Ray?"

 "Yeah?"

 "Do you think you could help me out with something?"

 "What"

 Ivy gave him a serious look. "I'm going to go _looking_ for him. The killer, I
mean. This can't be allowed to continue. I'm going to use my powers. I'm going to find
him. If it kills me, I'm going to make sure that he doesn't do this again!"

 He watched her from the shadows. She was mixing things, brewing her magic. The
cop was watching, spell bound. He _was_ spell bound. She'd done something to him, he
was sure. She was a sorceress. One of them. The voices wanted her. They wanted her, and
she is what they'd get. But he couldn't get to her. Not in her house, the voices couldn't go
in there, so they wouldn't let him in either. And every time she left, she was surrounded by
the wolf-demons. 'Just wait. A little while longer. Just wait a little, then she's yours.'

 The voices were grumbling in his head. The voices weren't happy with half
measures, appetizers, anymore. They wanted _her_. He had to give her to them, just like
the others.

 At first, he had tried to make them go away. He'd tried. Then the drugs stopped
working. The cutting, the hurting, the deaths, they no longer appeased the voices. He had
to give them _her_. He had to give them Ivy Green.

 The voices would teach him how to deal with the wolf-demons. They'd get rid of
the cop. They'd help him get her, so he could give her to them. Then the voices would go
away. They'd leave him alone and he could be normal again. Then everything would be all
right.

 Ivy stood, surrounded by a circle of candles, with Ray standing outside of it.
"Okay, I'm going to see if I can't _find_ the killer this way. You spot me."

 Ray blinked. "Spot you? What the hell do you mean by that?"

 " I don't know, if I collapse, if I have a fit, if I stop breathing, if my head starts to
spin around like in the Exorcist, _do_ something. That's all."

 Ray looked pale. "Umm, you sure this is a good idea?"

 Ivy's expression was a mix of fear and grim determination. "No. But I'm doing it
anyway."

 Ray watched as Ivy's eyes closed, and her breathing evened out. He watched, and
watched, and watched. 'This is very boring. Oh well. Least she isn't hard on the eyes.
She's actually kinda pretty, now that I think on it.'

 Ivy stirred. His eyes locked on to her face. Her eyes were still closed, but her
expression was full of fear, pain, and anguish. Then her eyes snapped open and she
screamed- in somebody _else's_ voice. "No! No! Somebody help me!"

 Ray lunged forward, knocking over several candles and grabbed Ivy, wrapping his
arms around her to still her thrashing. Her eyes were staring vacantly ahead, seeing
something he couldn't. Her labored breathing rasped in his ears. She looked like she was
just seconds away from a heart attack.  "Yo! Ivy! Come back to me, here. It's okay,
you're all right! Chill! Ivy!"

 As he rocked her and spoke soothing nonsense words, Ivy's eyes lost the glazed
and terrified look, her breathing evened out, and she was focusing on Ray's face. Her
expression filled with sorrow. "Oh Ray. He did it again. I actually _felt_ her die." Ivy burst
into sobs. "Ray, it was _Myah_. He got Myah. She's gone."

 Ray gently rocked the sobbing woman and waited for his phone to ring.
 

 "No. I...want to be alone for a while. I have some things I need to think about. I
mean...I didn't like Myah very much, no one did. But she didn't deserve..."

 "I know. I know. What I want to know is...Well, she was one of _us_! How'd he
manage to catch her by surprise? She should of felt him coming from blocks away!"

 Ivy shook her head. "I don't know. I just don't know. Maybe...maybe if I
_looked_..."

 Ray shook his head vehmnantly. "Don't you dare! The last time ya tried that, you
were, like, zoned for hours. I don't want ya trying somethin like that without someone
keepin an eye on ya."

 Ivy looked solemnly up at him, and then smiled. "Thank you Ray. It's nice to know
that you worry about me."

 Anne rolled her eyes. "And what am I? Chopped liver?"

 A shot rang through the night. Anne made a choked sound and crumpled, bleeding
from her side. Ray grabbed Ivy, and yanked her behind some boxes just as another shot
slammed through the space he'd been occupying. Ray drew his weapon and tried to locate
the shooter. There was utter silence. Ivy tugged lightly on Ray's jacket. "Ray?" She
whispered. "Ray! Anne isn't healing. She should be moving, and she isn't. The bullets
Ray! He is using _silver_ bullets! He knows..."

 There was a creak behind him. Ray had just enough time to spin around before his
vision exploded into sparks, and then everything was dark.

 Fraser picked up the phone. "Canadian Consulate, Constable Fraser speaking.
How may I help you?"

 Lieutenant Welsh's voice came through the phone. "Constable, would you please
send us Detective Vecchio? He is supposed to be working _here_, you know."

 Fraser blinked. "He hasn't returned yet? He said he was going to drop off Miss
Hollows and Ms. Green, and then go back to the precinct."

 "No. When was this?"

 "At least an hour ago. He _should_ have returned by now. Perhaps I should go
and see if..."

 "Just a moment, Constable." Fraser could hear Huey's voice in the background.

"Sir! We got a report of shots fired down by Green's house!"

 "Go check it out! Constable?"

 But Fraser was no longer there. He was rushing out the door of the Consulate,
Dief hard at his heels. 'Ray...Be okay, Ray. Be okay!'

 It took Fraser less than seven minutes to get to Ivy's house. The only thing to be
seen was a huddled, blond form lying in a pool of blood. 'It's Ms. Hollows.'

 Fraser shot a look around, but neither Ray nor Ms. Green were present. He went
to the pay phone and called an ambulance.

 When he looked up, Mr. Baker was hovering over Anne, applying pressure to her
wound, and speaking urgently to her.

"Anne! Don't you dare do this to me, Anne! Don't you _dare_! Come on Anne. Open
your eyes..."

 Anne stirred weakly. She heard someone talking...This was important. She had to
tell him something. He needed to know this...But it hurt, it hurt so _badly_. Liquid flames
spilling through her veins instead of blood. Why...? She moved her hand slightly, and felt it
slip through something hot and wet. Oh. That explained it. All her blood was leaving.
That's why there was fire. To replace the blood. Well, that was all right then...

 Anne laboriously opened her eyes, and realized she was staring up at the sky. It
was full of stars...The moon was up, all red and full. It was pretty. Then  someone's face
obscured the sky. It was Baker.

 'Go away. You're blocking the view...'

 The face above her moved it's lips, but she couldn't hear anything. 'Hmm. Guess I
must be deaf. Deaf, deaf, deaf, Dief...That's who I need to tell! Ha!' Feeling quite pleased
with herself for remembering that much, she then set her mind to recalling what it was she
needed to tell him. Convenient that she had him right above her like that.

 "Dief..."

 She could see Fraser was in the background. He was calling an ambulance. 'Oh
dear. I wonder who's hurt? Probably Ray, after all Fraser sounds quite worried. If he were
a wolf, he'd be baying at the moon. Bay, day, cay , say, ray...Ray! _That's_ what I needed
to remember!'

 "Ray! Ivy! He has...You need to save...He knows! Silver. Silver, silver, silver...the
light of the silvery moon...Help them. Save them. The Moon..." Funny, she felt like she
was shouting, but she could barely hear herself. 'I should get that checked out by a
doctor...'

 "Anne?! Anne! Stay with me now! Don't you _dare_ die on me! Where else am I
going to find a woman who's willing to put up with my friends?! Anne!"

 'Stop shouting...Honestly dearest...You're too excitable...Nobody's dying. We're
just looking at the sky. So pretty...' Anne's thoughts drifted off as the scarlet light of the
moon bled into black.

 Ivy awoke feeling like someone was trying to pry her skull apart with a crowbar.
From the _inside_. 'Ohh man. What hit me?' She tried to remember. 'Oh yeah. The butt of
a gun. The bastard pistol whipped me. Figures.'

 Doing her best to keep her breaths regular and her eyes closed, she did a mental
inventory. 'Okay, I'm laying on something flat and cold, and slightly stone like. Must be
floor. My hands and feet are tied to something. I'm spread eagled. I'm...naked? This is
bad. This is very bad!'

 Despite herself, her eyes flew open. She was staring up at a lofted ceiling. She
couldn't begin to guess where. It looked a little like a cathedral. There were make-shift
torches, two at her feet, and two by her hands. She turned her head to look at her
surroundings. She needed to know where Ray and Anne were.

 "Awake?"

 Her eyes flew to the man facing her. For once, it was _not_ an ex-boyfriend. She
didn't know _who_ he was. He was of medium height, pale, blonde, utterly average. Not
the kind of person you ever look at twice. No wonder no one ever remembered seeing
him! "Who are you? What's going on?"

 Ivy was rather surprised by the amount of calmness in her voice. She was having
screaming hysterics in her head.

 "I need you. You're perfect. You see things, you see. The dead talk to you. The
voices said you were the one."

 Ivy stared up into the wide, dilated eyes of the man. 'Shit! He's either totally
insane, or on something _really_ hallucinogenic.'

 "The voices said you were the one. If I give you to them, they'll go away. They'll
leave me alone. I just want to be normal again. To make them go away. So I need you.
You'll make them go away. They like you."

 Ivy stared up at him, and suddenly, her vision seemed to blur. She saw her captor,
but he was surrounded, and eclipsed by a dark...something! She didn't know what it was,
but it was evil. And it was laughing at her. Thick, dark tentacles of _it_ snaked out and
she could feel them, cold and slimy, on her skin. Flinching, she yanked hard at her bonds,
thrashing, trying to escape the _thing's_ presence. In the process, she noticed what she
was tied to. It was an alter. A sacrificial alter. Her eyes were caught and held by a glint of
metal. It was a silver dagger. Real silver. Her mind supplied facts from the forensic report
she had read. 'a double edged dagger, made of some sort of soft metal, about six inches
long, and an inch and a half wide...' It was the blade that had been used to kill all the other
victims, and he was moving it towards her throat.

 "I'll give you to them, and then they'll go away. All they want is you."
 

 Ray snuck quietly through the door of an old Planetarium. It had been closed
down for renovations, and being in the middle of nowhere, was a perfect place for the
killer to actually...do his work.

 The world tilted to one side slightly, as Ray's dizziness over-came him. 'Geeze.
That guy has a wicked way with a pistol butt. I haven't felt like this since the whole Cahill
thing. Now, I have to find Ivy before the psycho starts in on her.'

 Baker watched the ambulance speed away. He felt a quiet tap on his arm. He
turned, to find Fraser looking at him. "You could go with her."

 Baker shook himself out of his daze. "No. I have to help you find Ray and Ivy."

 Baker began to cast about the scene for clues. He picked up some bullet casings,
and found a knife floating in a second pool of blood behind some boxes next to Ivy's door.

"Fraser? What do you make of this?"

 "It's far too much blood for the victim to have survived the loss."

 Baker nodded. "And yet, there are foot prints going off in that direction.
_Someone_ got up and walked away..."

 "Those prints are about Ray's shoe size."

 The two men exchanged a long glance, and then started to track the foot prints.

 Ivy glared up at the dark _thing_ that stared down at her from the man's eyes. "Do
you know what my mother is going to do to you?"

 The thing smiled. "You left the family business. That makes you fair game."

 "I left them, they didn't leave me. A Green is a Green forever, regardless of her
feelings on the matter. Mom'll make you regret the day you were spawned!"

 The dark thing just shrugged. However, the knife, while set against her throat,
wasn't moving.

 "That's as may be. Regardless, we need the power of someone like you. At first,
we thought that using a great many of lesser powers would work, so we directed this
pitiful fool to 'give us' their powers."

 "The more painful the death, the more power released, isn't that it? You're
practicing Blood Rites. Those bounce back and hit you eventually."

 "Karma is the least of our worries, Lady Green. If we can't get _free_ we're going
to be facing a lot worse that moral backlash."

 "If you _do_ get free you'll be facing my mother."

 "Oh do be silent. We haven't the time for this."

 "Worried that my friends will find you? If you aren't free by the end of this night,
you won't have another chance for a thousand years. Blood Moon ends tonight."

 "Oh no, your two friends would be quite dead by now. This tool of ours emptied a
revolver's worth of silver bullets into the Wolf-woman, and the poor human got a knife in
the kidneys. We doubt either of them survived those circumstances."

 Ivy's eyes filled with tears. "You..." The air around her began to glow, and her
hair whipped about as if thrashed by a wild wind. However, the effects only worked within
a foot of her body. The thing smirked. "Your little tricks won't work on us, Lady Green.
We've warded you to a fair-thee-well. You can't even light a candle. So now, prepare to
die."

 Ivy glared her hatred up at the figure. But she could do nothing to stop the
dagger's inorexable movement.

 Watching her death come closer, Ivy screamed, and screamed, and screamed...

 Following the sound of screams, Ray entered the room, just in time to see the killer
above an unconscious Ivy, knife busy at her throat. He quietly put on his glasses, pulled
his gun, and fired. The man dropped the knife, and spun to face him.

 "Impossible! We killed you!"

 Ray blinked. 'Woah. Major-ly wacked out.' "Well, obviously you didn't do it well
enough."

 The man looked frantically up at the ceiling. "The Moon is almost gone! We don't
have time for this!

 "You're under arrest."

 The man glared. "We'll just have to kill you again."

 He pulled out a gun. Ray made to fire, but a flash of light interrupted him. The
man screamed when the light hit him, and spun around to face the direction it came from.

Standing there were Baker and Fraser. Baker was stalking forward.

 {You are forbidden here! The Blood Moon is almost ended. You can not have this
woman. I, who serve the People, forbid it. Be gone!}

 "No! No!  We will not go back! We can not have failed. No! No!"

 The killer lunged for Baker, and Ray shot. The man fell to the ground, dead.
However, there was a shadow still hovering in the air where he had stood. ~No! I will not
go back! I won't!!~

 Baker ran forward, until he stood between the thing and Ivy. {You have no choice.
You have no tool, no vessel. You can affect nothing here.}

 The thing lunged toward Ray, and could not get near him. Baker smirked. {You
can not enter him. The Lady Green is protective of those she cares for.}

 The thing shot towards Fraser, and was actually burnt trying to touch him. ~ What
is going on here?!~

 {He is special. He is Chosen. And, quite frankly, you are screwed. The Blood
Moon is over. }

 The shadow's shriek of despair died down to a faint, shrill wail, as it vanished back
to where it had come from. Ray was by the alter in a flash, applying pressure to Ivy's
bleeding throat, while Baker cut her bonds and Fraser draped his coat over her. Ray pulled
out his phone, so that Fraser could call an ambulance. It was over. He didn't understand
what had happened, but he knew that much. It was _over_.
 

 Baker sat in the hospital waiting room. Fraser and Ray sat next to him, talking. He
watched their lips moving absently, but what they were saying didn't really register. He
was too busy thinking. 'This was my fault. I should have _known_ what Maxwell was. I
should have _seen_ that he wasn't a normal psycho...'

 A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his recriminating daze. Fraser was
nodding towards the door. "The doctor is here."

 The doctor, a handsome red-haired woman who's name tag said 'Dr. Anders',
walked over to the three men.

 "Which one of you is 'Ray'?"

 Ray raised a hand.

 "Well, Ms. Green has come to, and she insists on seeing you. She doesn't seem to
believe us when we say you're all right, so if you would come with me?"

 Baker made a slight motion. "Excuse me, but how is Ms. Hollows?"

  Dr. Anders sighed. "She's out of surgery now. She...well she lost a lot of
blood, and seems to have had some sort of allergic reaction to the material of the bullets.
The next few hours are critical. If she survives them, she'll probably pull through. But we
just can't know until then. I'm sorry."

 Baker stood and watched as the Dr. towed Ray behind her, headed for Ivy's room.

Fraser led him to a chair and sat him down. Very absently he said "Thank you kindly,
Benton."

 Fraser looked at him gravely. "That's what friends are for, Diefenbaker."
 Baker stared at Fraser numbly as those words registered, then he nodded slightly.

"How long have you known?"

 "Since you pulled me out of that pit. I wasn't as unconscious as you thought I
was."

 "You never said."

 "You never brought it up. I rather thought you didn't want to talk about it."

 Baker blinked. "You knew during that whole 'Wild Bunch' thing and you were
going to shoot me _anyway_?"

 "Well, you _did_ bite..."

 Baker held up a halting hand. "Never mind. I don't think that I want to know." He
shook his head bemusedly. "I've known you for years, Benton, and you still occasionally
surprise the heck out of me."

 Fraser smiled slightly, and said nothing.

 Ivy's head snapped up the second Ray came through the door. "Ray! You're okay!
Thank God!"

 Ray walked to her side. "Yeah. I'm fine. Even my headache is gone."

 Ivy blinked. 'Maxwell said that he'd gotten stabbed, but he looks fine. How...?'

 "Ivy?"

 "He told me you were dead. He said you and Anne were dead, and he was going
to...going to..."

 Ivy was embarrassed over breaking down, but she really couldn't help it. She
broke into sobs. Ray sat down at the side of her bed, and held her while she cried. That
was when she realized. 'I'm in love with him. I'm in love with Ray and I don't even know
his _real_ last name! Oh god!'

 She decided that she was too tired to angst about this, the latest in a long line of
romantic difficulties. 'Worry about that tomorrow. For now, just enjoy this.'

 She laid her head on Ray's shoulder, and fell asleep to the sound of his heart beat.

 Baker sat by Anne's bed, holding her hand and praying. 'Oh goddess. Please,
please let her pull through. I don't...'

 His breath hitched with pain, almost a sob. 'I don't think I could manage without
her...I love her.'

 He wished there was something within his power to do. That he could somehow
heal her, or take her pain into himself, but all he could do was hold her hand, waiting for
some sign that she was going to make it through the night, and into the coming dawn.

Just in case you're wondering, near my home, there really is a Planetarium that has front hall that looks like a little cathedral. Just thought you ought to know. (Funny how strange little things stick in one's mind, eh?)
 
Nasty place to end it, isn't it. Don't worry, there'll be a companion story (amazingly enough for me, a _short_ one) called "The Coming Dawn" that'll resolve the whole hospital thing.Eventually, when I get around to it...*grins wryly* But now I'm sure you can see why in anime fic circles I'm the 'Angst Queen' <G>
 
Please give me feedback. I'm an author, and my delicate ego is always in need of more strokeing. (Many thanks to you dear souls who have sent feedback all ready. Of course, that's no excuse not to again...<BG>)