New Allies

[Tan Li]

All hell broke out and Li was more focused on the woman in front of him. But he felt the power warring in front of him. He saw it with his own two eyes. He saw the weaves flowing from the man. He wondered if Nhysa could see the weaves the same way. The fact that the woman could weild the power of the gods didn't really surprise him. But the monsters that came shortly after the fight started made Li pause.

And then one came at them. The crowd screaming around them, pushing around. The shadowy creature came at them. He'd never seen one before. He'd, of course, read about them, but no living Atharim had actually seen one. "Ijiraq."

The word was barely out of his mouth when the creature pushed through the crowd and was on top of him before he could think. And then there was nothing but searing pain. A silent scream raked through Li's throat as he felt more power than he thought possible rip through his body.

[Nhysa]

Nhysa stared, utterly charmed. She asked the question but at first did not know if Li could truly see them; she saw plenty of things others did not, and nearly all of it oozed from the plane of shadows. They were beautiful, far more so than the sputtering sparks of fireworks, or even the fiery dragon that had singed the tops of the crowd. She felt her dark friend curl around her body and claim the crevice between shoulder and neck, sheltered by the inky fall of her hair. The dig of its needled claws were like the tickle of kisses.

Ijiraq. The new word permeated through her mind, inquisitive as a child discovering something new and unexpected at the bottom of a toy box, but only for that brief second before one of creatures slid lightening fast -- and straight into Li.

She was not much given to rash emotion; such things usually got you killed, and while Nhysa embraced the fleeting nature of life she did rather prefer to hang on to it for now. Particularly on the heels of such coy a promise as the one that had teased from Li’s lips moments before.

As he jerked backwards she twisted after him, sweet pain stabbing her wounded stomach with the movement. Shadow ignited from her like a dark flame, bringing new scope to her view of the world. The ijiraq fogged ethereal, and Li’s expression was monstrous to behold, but she did not linger on that rictus of agony. She would give a quick and vicious end.

Yet the whip that should have wrenched the creature savagely back like a garrotte instead whispered through its insubstantial neck.

She did not know how to fight this.

Nhysa hissed, her brows drawn low for the inconvenience. “Now would be helpful,” she spat to the coil of darkness still clung to her neck, but her sweet companion gave no indication it had heard her plea let alone would choose to direct her. The ijiraq felt like cool mist when she clawed through it, seeking some physical way through to disrupt its grip. What was it doing? It seemed to squirm away from her, phasing through Li’s entire body to leach instead from behind. Like it did not enjoy the rebuke of her touch. 

And why him? The crowd thinned in terror, but the creature had honed in like Li was a beacon to its senses, ignoring those fleeing under its straight-arrow glide. Her hand braced his cheek like a promise, apparently inured to his silent scream but desiring to offer at least some comfort, and her dark attention flexed to their surroundings, seeking the ijiraq’s brothers -- and their victims specifically-- but bared her teeth when she realised it was too dark. Too many people were screaming to pinpoint anything useful.

She preferred evidence, but would rely on hastily assembled theory in a pinch.

“I’m sorry, dear one.” She frowned, though did not think he could hear her. Then she swept his feet and pulled him to the ground, swinging from behind to lock his neck in the hook of her arm. She gripped her own bicep, shoved a palm to the back of his head, and squeezed. Cold radiated to her very bones, the creature pulsing and swirling in an effort to keep its latch while apparently avoiding touching Nhysa. She growled. Once Li passed out she could only hold tight for seconds without risking damage. She assumed it would break his hold on the power, just as she assumed he must be holding it, not to mention the biggest one; that she assumed it was what had even drawn the creature -- a whole lot more assumption than she was comfortable with while strangling a man she was more than a little fond of. And fuck knew what she was going to do with the creature when it detached.

---

[[Hope the mode is okay. I don't know if we have established lore or not on whether an ijiraq can or cannot feed if the food loses consciousness? I'm presuming that despite the link once the person is knocked out their hold on the power is gone and therefore they detach, but I've left it open in case the general consensus is no. I'm also pulling my Mother Nyx card. The Ijiraq will think twice before crossing her if she joins the fighting (in that they will prefer not to touch her). Unless Li channels again straight away, it will flee and find another victim. Nhysa will obviously release the hold whether or not the Ijiraq flees. He will lose consciousness for 5-30 seconds from it, and she will keep her arms loosely around him to stop him getting up too quickly when he comes round.]]

[Ivan Sarkozy]

Ivan looked back briefly to where Yun was as the Lieutenant left. He supposed his job was done. Not like he should draw attention to himself by repeating it to others. She might get suspicious as to why he was suddenly being so helpful. Not like he'd hidden his resentment at her having him over a barrel.

Nor should he go find Ryker or his friend Mik. If the seeds were planted and if they were seen together it would be pretty obvious it was a set up. So...he wandered, nearing the edges of the party. God, this night was gonna suck. He thought about texting Danya. But no. He was on the job. Or at least had to look like he was.

Yeah, he was bored.

In the distance, in the direction of the pavilion, he heard screams, and things seemed to erupt, crowds of bodies crawling over each other trying to get away.

He struggled through sea, pushed against them, trying to get close and just as he broke through he saw a wall of fire spinning around whatever was in the center.

Well, of course he went for the power as he ran to it, trying to think of what he could do against that. Water maybe? He drew as strong as he could, felt the strain of the power in the same way his muscles did when lifting heavy.

Even as he started to weave, ghostly white....things seemed to come into focus. One of them went for the center of the ring. It faltered and died down but his eyes were glued to them. The others floated circling and then one darted for a tall man near the edge. He dropped the weave and started working air to snatch the one on the Asian man when the last one flew straight him.

It bellowed and misted white and grey and suddenly he was seized at his core, felt the power pulled through him, ripping through him, a torrent that felt like it was literally tearing him apart.

He opened his mouth and screamed as light scoured through him.

[Mikhail]

Mik wandered the street fair. Lotsa hotties out tonight. His little trick with the dragon had fired his blood. As in he was itching to do more.

But nah, he needed to keep focused. He had his day job after all. As in getting the skinny about what was going down. And this little shindig brought out all the heavies. He saw a few Triads. Some of the Mordvinovs. The other families, too. They all wanted an eye at what went on here.

Smart, that. Power was not unlimited. There were only so many...enterprises they all could get up to. The Spider played her game, whore to all of them.

A Triad nodded to a Kolo and Mik smirked. Jesus, shit was gonna get real. Alliances even between enemies. He'd have to be careful. He slipped through the cracks from one world to the next. Not just information sharing. Back channel communication was part of it, too.

They might look down on him. Didn't matter tho. It was a fucking joke anyway. They'd learn just as pops had. The Lady would fuck you as easily as kill you. Sometimes both, he thought, laughing to himself. And he got paid. They knew they needed people like him.

But oh yeah, she was out and about tonight. He could feel her at the edges of his vision all shimmering and shit, fingers dancing. Yep. This was gonna be interesting.

The pavilion seemed to explode with screams and shit got real. He laughed. Right on time. The crowds roared and suddenly a wall of bodies ran screaming, coming for him. He touched his jacket pocket and felt the hard shape of the lighter. The power flooded him and he made a small wedge of air as he waded in. He needed to see what was going on. People bounced as they were pushed aside and he walked calmly through them.

Near the pavilion, he saw a ring of fire. Damn, but it was cool. He moved close to see who was inside. In that moment shapes seemed to form from clouds. Fuck me to tears! he thought. Damn, she was on fire tonight!!

One dropped into the center of the ring and it sputtered out. Before he got a chance to see what was inside a second of the things flew towards a tall guy with his back to him. It enveloped him. The last one flew straight towards...fuck.

Ivan the Great. The mist seemed to billow and shift, sometimes more solid than others. At one point he saw Ivan's face, mouth all twisted and his throat corded.

The power roiled in him. He supposed he should help him. Fire called to him but...damn it would suck if he burned that beautiful face- and body. I mean yeah, the dude was straight as an arrow- he laughed at his joke- and Mik had no shot. But he couldn't bring himself to damage those goods.

But it was mist right? Cloud or whatever. Maybe he could grab it with air? Like hold it in a circle of air?

Weaves shot from him, trying to find a spot to get in between the thing and Ivan. Fuck, but the guy was gonna make him work for it.

Ivan at least owed him a kiss for saving his life!

[Tan Li]

The pain was unimaginable. The searing scouring of one's soul with his own gift. Maybe it was a gift - a torture device sent for the hells so that these creatures could feed up on them.

There was little thought as the power raced through his body - more power than he could handle himself he knew it yet the immensity of it he'd felt once before - the Ascendancy when he made the arch from a mausoleum. But he could never draw upon that much power.

Li was vaguely aware of Nhysa around him, and then her choke hold on his body, her apology making sense moments before he passed out.

The darkness was a relief. Whatever had him fled when he was cut off from the power. It was gone. His body felt like it had been burnt from the inside out. Arms were still around him. A smirk crossed his lips. "You tried to kill me." Li didn't open his eyes to see her expression. "Thank you." His body felt like it was still on fire. It felt like someone had run steel wool all across his insides and left him to bleed out. But the arms that held him were warm.

The screams from around them crept into Li's mind and he frowned. "I will leave the decision up to you, my dark goddess, but I think we should make sure the innocents get out of here alive."

[Nhysa]

She didn’t disagree, not even to inform him that if such had been the case he wouldn’t have any breath left to draw in order to thank her. Her dark eyes watched the creature instead as it hovered and fluctuated above, folding in and out of itself like a prism of light. It was strangely static, and less human looking than it had appeared moments before, but since it did not attack she did not act further. Neither did she release Li from her grip, though of course her arms had loosened to something comfortable. He would know not to stand too quickly else risk losing his feet. Nhysa did not hold him down, and nor would her muscles flex to restrain should he shift to move, but there was something both possessive and intimate in the drape of her arms.

“Are they not innocent also?” she asked. “Everything must eat.”

She rested her chin atop his head. A few sharp whips of darkness pushed fleeing guests from a path that might have trampled them on the floor, though cognisant of the danger she did not hold on to the power. The creatures did not seem concerned of the general populace, and the voracious channeling at the heart of the disturbance had faded also. Li was warm beneath her hands. Vaguely, she was aware of the thrumming of his heart. She sighed. “Yet you would not ask if it did not matter to you. And what is shadow without light, I suppose.” 

Not that she sounded particularly convinced that their involvement was truly necessary, but apparently his own opinion made all the difference. Or maybe she simply liked the moniker he had chosen for her.

“You know their name. Do you know how they might be persuaded to move on?” She was a killer by trade and training, yet death was not her first instinct. At least not in these circumstances. She could incapacitate the food sources, she supposed, though she did not know how many might exist in the thinned crowd. The ijiraq outnumbered her, and they were fast. Speed would be necessary for another reason, she realised grimly, for it would doubtless not be long before the Custody were called to the disturbance -- and Nhysa had little desire to squander the rest of her evening filing reports.

[Tan Li]

He looked at Nhysa. What defined innocence? Another question she posed to him that made him think, but in this particular case. "I do not like being prey." But then again he was sure small hunted animals probably felt the same. Being an apex predator had its advantages. But were they really apex anymore?

Too many questions to think on. Li shifted to get more comfortable in Nhysa's arms. If it were a different situation, he might take advantage of the closeness, but there were screaming bystanders and they distracted him from the situation. Though most of the crowd had already dispersed. Only a handful of people stood and gawked. Others were making recordings with their wallets. Who wouldn't want to see this from the safety of their own couches?

Li sighed. He had no idea what they wanted. "No one has seen an Ijiraq in ages, they were thought dead. And no one said they could do what they just did to me. They are spies and assassins. But they don't look like they came here with a real purpose. And no one knows how to control them anymore."

Li shifted to sit up saddened by the fact that Nhysa's arms fell away from him. But he needed to see. He looked back at her with sly smile on his lips. "We can continue this intimate embrace in less populated areas later." It was a suggestion with much desire in the undertones, but it was also sad he had to stop. Li looked out upon the crowd. He saw three of the creatures. One still near them, another seemed to have found the idiot from the ring. And the third was around the main attraction. "Our woman friend up there was channeling, but she was not attacked. Might you be safe? They seem to only attack men. We could employ your methods by removing the air from around the victim and their attacker." Li suggested. "Provided you know how to do that?" Li didn't know how to do it. He could make a shield of air, but killing with his power had never been something he had tried. But Nhysa, she would use all her tools to her advantage - she might. "I don't want you or me to get any closer than we have to to those things." Li didn't add that he couldn't protect her from this thing. She wouldn't have found it comforting that he might try to protect her, nor did she really need his help.

[Ryker]

++++++


He made it not two steps before the immensity of the power drawn through him snapped. The recoil slammed him to the ground. And the searing torture of the ijiraq’s drainage eased as suddenly.

Unlike the fucking Ascendancy, who was spent to his knees by the Ijiraq, quivering and useless, Ryker clawed through the pain. He walked through hellfire once more, came away with a mangled web of scars for it, but he was strong. He put one foot in front of the other, heavy monster digging inward. His back curled over, hands holding his abdomen. The fight with Oriena left him fatigued, but the pulse of adrenaline animated a skeleton unwilling to buckle. He would not bend a knee! Not to this creature. Not to Ascendancy. And not before any woman. If he died, it would be on his fucking feet. And today was not the day he died.

His head spun, but the power was slippery and gone even if he had the will to bend it to his needs. The knife would not help him now. The Ijiraq snarled at the prey denied it, hovering a meter above his head, darting and diving back to reclaim its bounty. Ryker roared back at it, a hellish war cry that made the Ijiraq phase in and out. If they knew fear, this was it. It fled into the sky then, seeking easier meat.

The beacon of power drew Ryker toward Ivan and Mik. Of the men, only he bore witness to the ijiraq’s infiltration of the Ascendancy’s ball. “Freeze it with water and air.” He yelled into the distance, attempting to snatch Mik’s attention. “And shatter the mother fucker with the swing of a hardened air,” he motioned the arc of a bat before grabbing his abdomen and stumbling in his own weak rush closer. He’d help, if he could, not only to free Ivan, but to wield revenge upon the beasts by any means.

[Oriena]

This is how it ends. This is how it ALWAYS ends. 

No one ever comes to save you. 

So save yourself.

Her fists squeezed. The dry breath scraping in and out over her split lip was a snarl as she inched her way to her feet, looking now not at Ryker but at the misty creature that had pulled away from him. Frustration and confusion peeled away from it. The ijiraq hung dazed; she could feel some sense of its stupor from having been so suddenly ripped from the source of its hunger. The light had gutted from her now, else her volatile nature might have been drawn to more recklessness. “You think I needed the fucking help?”

Ori stumbled a few steps forward, nauseous from the pain. She did not make the mistake of looking down.

The creature flitted in and out of focus, and she was unsure if it was real or the dizziness washing her vision. Ryker bellowed. She spun as it tore off into the crowd. She knew why.

Somewhere distant his instructions registered, and her teeth grit, but the power burned right through her grasp. Perhaps just as well. In that moment she didn’t know whose fucking side she was on.

[Yun Kao]

There was little she could do in the mist of all this. Priority number one was get the Yakuza and herself out of harms way. Her people were on her quickly and they didn't have to push hard for her to take shelter. This was why she needed the power - someone her own, but even Sarkozy fell to these creatures.

But that was a plea for another day. Her and her people ushered the Yakuza to safety. The least of her worries...