The People v. Eleanor Warwick

The elevator seems to take a lifetime.

Jessie pops her knuckles and snorts angrily as the box ascends, floor by floor.

There’s no telling if Crane is alone and she doesn’t care. She’s going to bust down the wizard’s door and tear apart anybody standing in her way. A slight growl escapes her as she psyches herself up.

She tries to ignore the small boy just to her left. He holds his concerned mother’s hand as they press against the wall of the elevator. The woman apparently finds the roof of the chamber fascinating as she does everything she can not to look at the hellblood. The son, however, openly stares at her, mouth agape.

Softening her expression slightly, Jessie offers the kid an insincere smile. The boy ignores the gesture and continues to stare. Determining her half-hearted attempt was enough, she turns back to the door and eagerly waits for it to open.

When the stainless steel slides open, the hellblood storms out and walks down the hall as fast as she can without actually running. Slowing as she approaches the door so as not to alert her quarry, Jessie stands square to the doorway. At her silent command, the demonic properties in her blood come to life. Darkness takes her eyes and strength spreads through her limbs.

With a swift thrust of her size six and a half shoe, Jessie expects to free the barrier from its hinges. Instead, the door swings open at the last possible second.

Nothing to stop her momentum, the hellblood stumbles forward awkwardly. Before she can gather herself, a powerful grip seizes her by the jacket and tosses her into the apartment.

Adjusting quickly, she rolls to her feet and snarls. The copper-haired woman who stands before her sweeps the door closed without touching it.

She fits Warwick’s description of Cassandra Crane. The wizard narrows her brown eyes and scowls at the hellblood. “Where’s your master, creature?”

“She’s not my fucking master, bitch,” Jessie exclaims with a growl, “but you’ll be dead before she gets here!”

Without waiting for the taunting to continue, the hellblood charges. Lowering her shoulder, she prepares to tackle her foe. Once again, something she expects to stop her forward momentum does not. She passes through Cassandra’s body as though the wizard is made of smoke. Slamming on the brakes, she’s barely able to stop herself from plowing into the wall.

Turning back to the glaring wizard, Jessie balls up her fist and drives it into Cassandra’s face. The strike fails every bit as miserably. Cassandra’s comely face breaks up like a disrupted plume of smoke. Before Jessie can pull her arm back, Cassandra’s entire frame melts into a shifting stream of vapor. The mist slithers around the hellblood’s arm and flows onto her body.

Hard nails attempt to rip the smoky tendrils away but find no purchase. Cassandra’s gaseous form assaults the hellblood’s eyes and nostrils. Jessie coughs and hacks as she staggers about. Clutching her throat, she stumbles on her own feet and hits the floor. Once Jessie is down, the mist gathers underneath her. Suddenly solidified, the mass shoots upward like a geyser. The rapidly rising pillar crushes her against the ceiling.

As bits of stucco and drywall fall to the ground, the wizard’s form becomes ephemeral once more. Jessie drops through the mist and crashes to the hardwood floors with a thud. The vapor swirls together and morphs back into the recognizable form of Cassandra Crane.

The hellblood grits her teeth and she staggers to a knee, clutching her shoulder. “That all you got?”

Cassandra narrows her eyes. Her voice cracks as she speaks. “Grace was my only friend.”

“Who the fuck is Grace?” As a hateful scowl twists the wizard’s face, realization strikes Jessie. “Oh. You mean that snake.” Cassandra offers no confirmation aside from a flare of the nostrils.

The hellblood smirks callously as she rises to her feet, dusting off her jacket. “The one I killed? The one whose head I ground into the fucking pavement like a cigarette butt?”

Tears of rage roll down Cassandra’s cheeks. She shakes in fury. Then suddenly, with one deep breath, her face becomes passive and cold. Yet, her eyes still hold a storm of hatred and anger. “Did you know there is a little magic in you?”

The abrupt change in subject catches Jessie off guard. “What?”

“Magic. A certain amount of it is within you, allowing such an abomination to exist.” Jessie’s eyebrows arch as the wizard raises a hand to her. Clutched within it is a small stone, glowing blue with strange energies. “Without it, an agonizing death is all you have to look forward to.”

Fairly certain she holds the Tempus Stone they seek, Jessie rushes forward. Before getting far, blue coils lurch out of the Stone.

The translucent tentacles burrow into Jessie’s torso. Gasping loudly, the hellblood lifts off the ground, her chest pulled forward. Cassandra watches with perverse pleasure as azure veins spread throughout the murderer’s body. The black in Jessie’s eyes fight against a creeping blue, but loses.

Their task complete, the tendrils quickly recede back into the Stone. Jessie drops to the floor, landing on all fours. Quickly bounding to her feet, the hellblood feels around her body, as if making sure she’s still whole. When her demon half answers her call, she cracks an amused smile. “Was something supposed to happen?”

Cassandra’s face remains cold. “Like I said: Agonizing. Slow.”

“Then I guess I have plenty of time to rip you apart!” Jessie resumes her charge and lets fly with several wild strikes. Cassandra back-pedals with grace and avoids each attempted blow.

Once her back is nearly to the window, Cassandra returns to her smoky, ephemeral form. Flowing past Jessie as she launches one more attack, the wizard reforms behind her. Jessie spins around to find Cassandra standing ready with a swirling sphere of cobalt energy circling her hand.

“Oh, shit.”

The wizard pushes her hand toward her, unleashing a wave of azure force. The energy strikes her square and knocks her off her feet.

The glass of the window provides little resistance as the hellblood smashes through it. Her momentum carries her across the alleyway and sends her crashing into the side of the building next door. Bouncing off the brick, she plummets into the alley. Clipping a dumpster on the way down sends her into a topsy-turvy spin that makes her landing on the pavement awkward and contorted.

Cassandra stares out the broken window at the motionless heap on the concrete below. She hopes the hellblood is still alive. The animal still has plenty of suffering to do. She would love to watch it happen, but there’s still one more complication she needs to remove.

A soft chime draws her attention. Stepping away from the window, she retrieves her cell phone from the island. A quick glance confirms what she expected: Joseph was not able to delay Warwick for long.

Just as well, she thinks.

Leaning against the wall, she slides down to the floor. Reaching into her pocket, Cassandra pulls out the mangled body of her only friend. Stroking the corpse, she sits and waits.