Life After the Cataclysm - Chapter 3

Zack gave a sigh of relief as the circle was broken the pounding in his head seeming to only simmer now. He gave a short bow straightening he turned as with the Reeve with his greeting to Kaelan. Zack laid himself down next to the fire looking to the circle as it was closed again he felt the writhing in his mind increase Kade was complaining that was for sure…..the words seeping into Zack’s mind. “Why am I blind!?!?” The demon was not happy he could not see any further than the ward circle. He stared at the point where it had been closed…but he weighed out the positives…one mans pain for three lives or the risk of all falling to death.

Zack accepted the offered cup finding no warmth from it but it was necessary to regain the liquid he had sweated just getting into this circle so with a shrug he began to drink it…politely though as if at a kings table…Zack turned to look in the direction of the automobiles…. “We left our one at the motel.” He rolled over onto his back the cup of tea empty already and resting on the ground carefully. He stared up at the sky… “If any fighting starts just yell my name.” With that Zack closed his eyes seeming to fall asleep right there and then…

The land had changed. The swords and magic of Midean had amalgamated with the bullets and technology of the Prime plane. Two worlds recovering from cataclysms had become entwined and so soon had the two fronts converged within the town of Obsidon.

Bright headlights shone upon the ancient gateway. The unsteady hand of the guard rose to shield his eyes as he cautiously approached the heavy iron bars that protected him from blazing lanterns of the approaching vehicles. Never before had he seen such carts that moved of their under their own power, or perhaps they were pulled by unseen creatures of the demon world. The simple man could not fathom such things. He only knew that he was the guard, and it was his duty to question all travelers.

"State ye business!" He shouted, trying to hide the tremble in his voice.

Only the engines of the large four by four truck and winnebago behind it rumbled in response until the door of the first vehicle swung open and out stepped a tall man. The shadowy form approached the gatekeeper, his heavy boots crunching the soft stones beneath them.


From his vantage point atop Saghala, the hangman's hill, Ethrened watched intently, as the dark figure moved toward the gate. The tall man, walked purposefully and eventually disappeared behind part of the wall that obscuring the lord's view. He strained his ears, trying to make out any words that might have been exchanged between the stranger and Larnin, the night watchman. The lord was startled then by a loud bang and after some time, the screech of the rusty gate hinges could be heard and the shadowed man returned to his vehicle and shut the door.

Ethrened watched was the two vehicles slowly rolled into his town. The tell tale glow of the bright lights allowed him to know their location at all times, until they went dark and only the rumble of the engines could be heard echoing through the the narrow streets. Then, silence.

The sound of the shot gun blast was enough to cause, Zack to stir from his slumber. He had fallen into a deep blissful sleep, the kind that most took for granted and one that he could only attribute to the power of the circle which contained him. The lord had closed it once more upon the half-demon, with no malicious intent. The lord had no knowledge of Zack's origins and had thought it best to keep the circle sealed for their own protection.

"What manner o' bandits are these?" Growled Ethrened.

Only then did the mystic open his eyes to respond in his usual vague manner.

"People of the Prime, but they are much more than they appear."

The two vehicles were parked in a dark alcove on the far side of town. The driver of the truck, eased back in his seat and smiled as he gripped the steering wheel. He ran his hands along the weathered material as if it were a new sensation or one he had not experienced in a long time. The latter was the truth. The man was no more. When the worlds combined, many such corrupt beings had become the vessels of demonic creatures and this gang of eight marauders were as honey to the bees.

The leader opened the door and stepped out of the truck. He surveyed his surroundings through dark sunglasses but despite them he seemed to see quite clearly into the blackness. He was a tall man, and wore a mish-mash of hardened leather armor and chain-mail that was characteristic of the more modern world. His skin was dark and his black hair pulled back into a long pony-tail that streamed down his back. Stepping away from the truck he raised his head and sniffed the air more like a beast rather than a man.

"Kulzhan, why are we here?" Asked the female passenger in the truck as she inspected her sidearm, "These people have nothing we need."

The tall man, took off his sunglasses revealing his white eyes as he turned around.

"I have my reasons." He told her and his eye slowly looked up toward Saghala hill. "Call it unfinished business."

Amber colored eyes watched the tall man with the white eyes from the shadows. She moved silently further back, the darkness closing in around her dark fur. She snarled slightly, showing her distaste for his scent. But then her nose twitched and she caught the barest hint of another's scent. One whom she'd been searching for for weeks. Zack and Kade.

The she-wolf moved silently as she maneuvered through the darkness until she was at the inn. She could smell the wolf-wraith and again snarled. It wasn't enough that the 'sand crabs had almost killed her, but ever since the changes had begun, she'd been dealing with these beasts on her search for Zack. The change had played havoc on her dna, the wolf all but going crazy. She'd had to hole up in a cave until she had control once again. She had no idea how long she'd been in there, only that she never wanted to go through that again. The pain had been excruciating as her wolf wanted to stay in the open and many a time she found herself trapped between the two forms of woman and wolf, not a pleasant experience for her.

She silently loped around to the back, shifting to her human form with ease and still pretty much clothed. She'd gotten better at that part of her shifting with the merge of the two realms. She walked in, watching the shadows, her nose and ears taking in every smell and sound. She smelled the wraith, Zack and.......another woman. Her lip curled, showing a long canine as her amber eyes glowed for a split second. She walked into the eating area and saw the mess as well as the dead wraith. And she saw the blood....the reddish/black blood that could only be Zack's. She rushed over and smelled it, a worried frown crossing her face. Zack had been injured, but she knew he was now close to her. She'd found him. Looking around, she knelt on all fours, taking in the battle scene around her. She rose to her full height of only 5'2", her long black, silver tipped hair flowing around her. Looking up the stairs, she headed up them, taking in the carnage the wraith had left before it had been killed. The inn was still empty, but she knew that would change and soon for these new people of this merging of the realms cleaned up the messes rather quickly.

She reached the upstairs and using her extraordinary sense of smell, she quickly found the Zack had been in. She entered it, the stopped her nose lifting to the air and sniffing. Again her eyes glowed amber for a second as she smelled the other female. She'd been here...in his room. She whirled around, then stopped again, berating herself. Zack more than likely thought her dead, so she couldn't blame him if he'd found another. Although, the wolf within her said to take him back...that he was her mate, even if they hadn't mated in the true sense of the word.

She had to find him first, get answers and then she would decide what her next plan of action would be. Once she'd been noticing since she entered the inn was that the smell of the female was familiar to her, but she couldn't place it.

She left the inn, and just in time as a clean-up crew was entering from the front of the building, so she slipped out the back and down a darkened alley. Spotting a concealed entryway to a shop that was clearly abandoned, she slipped into it, the shadows concealing her. She needed to rest, her body still healing from the original attack of the sand crabs and not being fully healed when she'd had to deal with the wraiths the past 36 hours. Her clothing was stained in her blood as well as the wraiths and she had long gouges across her chest and sides from their claws. They were only partially healed and still oozed some.

She made sure that she was alone in the entryway in the alley and then sat down in the shadows, pulling her knees up to her chest, resting her head upon them. Her mind drifted back to what had happened....at least to what little she remembered. She remembered leaving the cat-man and she remembered the pain of the sand crabs as they tore into her. She remembered the bright light, the raspy voice yelling and shots being fired from a semi-automatic weapon. Then, rough hands checking her over, then lifting her telling her she would live.....that she had to live. Then nothing.....just a black void that only revealed bits and pieces from time to time over the past few weeks. The main thing she'd thought of, that had never left her mind was to find Zack. She'd been following his scent, losing it only to pick it up again. Now he was close and she was tired.

Closing her eyes, she layed her head back against the cool, stone wall and dozed.

Zack slowly opened an eye the gunshot ringing out... he felt Kade still scratching at his mind screaming to know what was happening Zack opened his other eye as he sat up picking his claymore from the dirt he slipped it back onto its hooks on the back of his coat a small click coming from the hooks and clips. Zack brushed his hands off on his trousers as his eyes narrowed at the travellers down below he removed the glasses bridged on his nose as he wasn’t looking towards the fire...staring for a long time “I might go say hi.” He picked up the tea cup he had been given using it to scrape a small section of the ring off instantly Kade stopped scratching at his mind the circle wasn’t meant to be broken from the inside but touching it was still ill advised for Zack as he stood stepping out he turned to them raising his head away from the fire Kade had gone silent on him...a first for Zack that was for sure. “You had better close that behind me if you don’t want too much trouble and remember...Magic shields aren’t always designed for bullets.” He turned round not waiting to see if any of them would follow him he happily whistled a merry tune as he walked down the hill back into town...the song was not from an appropriate time that was for sure Beethoven’s 3rd symphony.

Kaelan watched Zack leave the circle and wanted to go with him, but he hadn't asked her to, and she was unsure as to what to do. She cared for him, that was plainly clear, but she had no idea where he stood and she knew that he still hurt over the loss of his 'woman'. She sighed, looking over at the older man with the strange hat and the monk, seeing that neither one of them rose to accompany him. She wasn't even sure if she could leave the circle the man had set.

"Zack!! Would you like some company?"

Zack stopped mid-tune and mid-down the hill turning on his heels smiling slightly. “I would be delighted to have someone to talk to...everything being so quiet.” Even Kade but that was probably his way of emphasising the still before the storm...yes things were going to go hectic they had guns down there...this caused him to smile broadly...a challenge maybe. “Let’s get going then we can’t keep our honoured guests wait too long after all they seemed in such a hurry to enter this humble city.” Forgetting he himself was a traveller in town as well, his self-excuse to himself...well I do own a room here.

Kaelan stood up, hiding her happiness at the fact that he wanted her to come along. She didn't want to seem too joyous and make him uncomfortable again. Stepping over the circle, she turned to smile at Ethrened and the monk, then caught up with Zack. She said nothing as she walked beside him, just enjoying his closeness. She didn't know what they were going to find, but she was better prepared now that Kade had taken care of her wolf.


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Sin only dozed for a few minutes before startling awake from a dream. They were more frequent now, but she never remembered much of them. Somehow though, she knew that they were of what she couldn't remember.

Rising from the stoop, she listened and smelled for anyone close by and not detecting anyone stepped out of the shadows, her amber eyes darting about. She didn't carry a weapon with her, that was the one thing that didn't stay with her when she shifted. She would shift and the weapon would always drop to the ground. So, she grabbed on when it was available and used it when she couldn't shift. Right now, that's what she was looking for, was a weapon before she continued on to get to Zack. She just happened to be heading in the direction that Zack and Kaelan were coming from.

Zack finding that no one else was following shrugged as he began to head down he could feel Kade moving in his mind sifting through…memories Zack gave it no mind if Kade was in the mood for past living let him be. Zack smiled down to Kaelan as he saw finally she had some confidence behind her as the two walked down the alley Zack lifted his head seeing a shadow in the distance moving up the street his eyes narrowed slightly as he didn’t get the sense that it was fully human and he went for his Claymore his hand resting on its hilt. “You see that Kaelan?” Wondering if her was delusional at the person walking up the street he could tell it was a women…but it was not fully human… after all none of the residents dare go outside at the moment.

Sin had already noticed Zack and Kaelan, having smelled them. A growl sounded low in her throat at the smell of the female walking with Zack....the same female she'd smelled up in the room at the inn along with Zack's scent. She quickly quieted, reminding herself that he probably thought her dead, so she had no reason to be angry...only she was. She slipped into the shadows of the buildings, unsure now that she'd found Zack. Her heart was racing and she leaned up against the wall, closing her eyes to still the tears that threatened to fall. Now that she'd found him, she wasn't sure that she could face him....especially with another woman at his side. Had he forgotten about her? Would he even accept her back? Who was this other female that walked with him and what was she to him? All of these ran through her chaotic mind. And Kade....what about him? She'd actually missed the demon, even though she'd never really spoken to him or anything like that, but he was a part of Zack and one that she accepted.

Taking a deep breath, she began to step out when she heard the sounds of footsteps with her acute hearing. From the sounds of it, it was one of the newcomers whom, she had a feeling, were up to no good. Again, she slipped back into the shadows.

Zack frowned slightly as he watched the women step in and out of the shadows he lifted his head in a mock smelling position but in fact he wasn’t smelling he was waiting for Kade to stop messing around finally the demon detached himself from his memories. “Zackie go collect the women don’t bother asking her just grab her wrist and move through the door which will be next to her one of those new bloods is heading this way.” Without a word he nodded to Kaelan a signal for her to follow his lead he moved quite quickly down the street at first not heading for Sin seeming to head towards what Sin knew as the sound of the footsteps. However when he came along side her his hand came out taking hers without looking he dragged the three through a door which like Kade had said been right next to the women….for some reason he could hear the demon snickering at the back of his mind…what was he finding amusing?

Sin watched as Zack and the woman moved towards her and then seemed to move towards the sound of the footsteps, moving closely to where she was hiding. When Zack moved quickly and grabbed her wrist, she didn't have time to react as she was pulled through a door next to her, the other woman following. When they were in the sparsely furnished room of what seemed to be an abandoned storefront, she yanked her wrist free, her amber eyes glowing a low growl sounding in her throat...one Zack would recognize from the not so distant past as she shifted to the black she-wolf with the silver tipped fur, glaring at Zack from eyes that he would also recognize.

The she-wolf turned her head to Kaelan and growled again, but didn't move towards her. Instead she turned back to Zack and walked up to him, her cold, wet nose nudging the hand that didn't hold the claymore.

Zack had taken them into the room about to tell off Kade when he heard the growl he slowly turned his head towards the women they had dragged in with them seeing her change into a wolf he seemed to freeze up Kaelan at her angle probably could see the tendons sticking from the side of his neck as Zack just stared at the wolf as it nudged its nose into his hand.

Zack gave a shiver closing his grey eyes as he took a deep breath his legs seemed to finally give way falling to his knees next to Sin his hand falling from the claymore as tears slowly formed on the edges of his eyes. “Sin?” His voice almost unbelieving as he opened his eyes again looking to her his hand moving with her fur stopping at the neck…as he bowed his head down to the floor wondering if this was just a bad dream he was having at the tavern maybe he hadn’t even been visited by Kaelan, he was about to wake up was he not?

The she-wolf known as Sin, lowered her graceful head and licked a tear off of Zack's face, giving him a heartfelt whine before nudging his cheek with her nose and then a 'whuff!'. The wolf stepped back to look at Kaelan who was staring at her with bright blue eyes and looked a lot like a younger Sin, only with blue eyes. She sneezed her disdain at the girl before she shifted again. Within about 60 to 90 seconds Sin stood before Zack and Kaelan. Amazingly, she had most of clothes on when she changed albeit a little worse for wear from the shifting. She looked down at Zack, still kneeling with his head on the floor. She knelt down, her small hand resting on his hair.

"Don't cry, Zack. Shhhhh....don't cry. I've found you...I've finally found you."

With those words a tear slipped down her own cheek.



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Kaelan stood there watching the wolf shift into the beautiful woman now standing before them. She'd heard Zack utter the name 'Sin' and her heart broke. This was the infamous Sin...the reason Zack wouldn't be with her. She didn't know whether to be angry, sad or happy....happy that the girl lived and Zack would be happy. But angry and sad that Zack would not be hers. Her blue eyes narrowed then and anger filled them as she took a step closer to the two kneeling on the floor.

"So...you are Sin. Zack has mourned you and you just show up?! How dare you do this to Zack!!! You should have stayed gone!!! Let Zack accept your death!!!"

Her eyes now blazed the greenish/gold of the tiger her canines elongating. Her words had been dripping with contempt.

Sin slowly stood up from Zack and glared at the young woman.

Zack was too busy staring at his hands to realize the conflict happening around him as he had pulled into himself those same dead eyes he was famous for coming in as he reeled away from reality to find a saner place….he found Kade.

“Yo, little brother.” Zack sat down next to him the demon had been playing another game of chess in his mind with himself it seemed but the pieces moved themselves across the board Zack sighed slightly as he slowly wiped the tears from under his eyes and sat. “Just what was that and don’t lie you have been laughing this whole time!” Kade looked up from his game smiling. “It was the truth is all I will say she is alive.”

The two sat what seemed hours but outside it was mere heartbeats as the two got angrier with each other Zack stopped a piece from moving on the board and placed it down somewhere else. “I don’t think I can handle this.” More tears were springing to his eyes as he sat with the demon that finally stood finally patting him on the shoulder. “Go then, I will make sure you don’t have to worry.”

Sin stood there standing over the prone body of Zack and smiled coldly at the girl.

"I know this is a shock to him....don't doubt that for a second, little girl.....but I am here, I am alive and I will not share him. Only if he does not want me can you have him."

Sin had already figured out that Kaelan was upset because she had feelings for Zack and didn't blame the girl for that....Zack was.....well, Zack. But, she was damned if she'd spent this time tracking him after almost dying to just give him up.


Kaelan rocked on the balls of her feet, ready to pounce her tiger's strength coming to the surface as her muscles became toner..more defined. She hissed at Sin in a cat like fashion.

"I carry a part of Kade within me.....my guess is you do not. Why is that, I wonder? Did Zack mark you at any time you were with him?", she turned slightly, showing Sin the mark in the back of her shoulder, "See, I carry his mark. So, who do you think he prefers, wolf-girl."

Sin saw red at her words and looked down at Zack, "Is this true?", but she got no response from him. She knelt down, lifting him to a kneeling position so that she could look at his face, his eyes emotionless. "Is this true, Zack?", she asked again but got no response. "Kade!!! Please....give him to me so that I may have answers!!"

Instead of Zack surfacing hell what can I say it was Kade the eyes bleeding to a dark red the arrogant smirk coming across his face. “Hmm someone call the masters name.” A horrid grin across his face as he pried her hands from him standing by himself he rolled his neck clicking it as he looked to Kaelan exposing the mark all over the place. Kade looked back to Sin shrugging slightly as he gave his answer. “Yeah we did kind of mark her?” Thinking about it with a typical pose of hand on chin as he continued...to plot.

Sin's amber eyes narrowed on Kade, anger shining in them. A part of her wanted to know why...but the other part of her was too afraid to ask...afraid of what the answer would be. She turned slowly to Kaelan, who was smiling at her as she covered her shoulder, then turned back to Kade. She knew that Kade liked to play with Zack....at least her head did, but her heart was slowly breaking at the thought of Zack marking Kaelan.

"It was Zack, not Kade who marked me, Sin. He marked me so that a little part of Kade could come into my mind and help me. Never did that with you, did he?"

That was almost Sin's undoing....almost. "Maybe he didn't have to mark me, little girl. Maybe I'm strong enough that I didn't need Kade to help me. Did YOU ever think about that? What's that say about you, little girl? Who needed Kade's help and who didn't?"

Kaelan saw red at Sin's indication that she was weak...having need of Kade's help when Sin never did. She gave a deep growl before she leapt at Sin, knocking the still recovering woman into the far wall, cracking the plaster.

Kade smiled at the argument nodding slowly as finally the two collided his smirk widening but he felt a slight tug at the read of his mind his eyes narrowing slightly but he ignored it for the time being as he watched the two fight. He lifted his head much like Zack but he knew where the strange new comers were and they were still some distance away. Turning back to the fight wondering if Sin had improved since last time she had known how to handle herself but she hadn’t had the guts to push forwards... maybe this little situation would aid her in her ability to fight his smirk coming to its peak but he felt that tug at his mind again shaking it off this time.

Sin hit the wall with a sickening 'thud' and tumbled to the floor. She rose slowly, clearly in pain as she stood up, her eyes all but glowing amber. Kaelan was standing there, where Sin had been before she'd thrown her into the wall and smirked at her. "Who needs Kade's help now?"

Before Kaelan could blink, Sin lunged at her, her fist connecting with the girls chin, knocking her on her butt. A cat like scream came from her mouth as she gracefully leapt to her feet. Claws had extended at the tips of her fingers as she lunged at Sin, her talons swiping at the woman, leaving shallow furrows in her abdomen. Sin's breath hissed in at the stinging before shifting into her wolf form. Kaelan was expecting this though and in mid shift she kicked at Sin in the side, again throwing her into the already cracked wall. Again she slid to the floor, only in full wolf form this time.

The she-wolf rose from the floor, snarling, her long canines showing. There was a red light glowing in her pupils and for the first time fear showed in Kaelan's eyes. The look Sin was giving was one that promised death.

Kade’s eyes narrowed at the sudden events in the fight. “A miscalculation?” As he suddenly saw Sin turn to the wolf even when introduced to pain she had kept it going…she had defiantly gotten better Kade looked to Kaelan smiling at the look of fright on her face… “Time to stop the idiocy.” That’s when he moved forward Sin practically had time to turn her head before Kade suddenly leapt across the distance slamming into her mid-rift as they tumble for a while Kade holding his arm under her neck his legs pulled her rear legs from under her….his other arm was free at the moment but I won’t give away the next part.

Sin was shocked as Kade tackled her, making it so that she couldn't move, trapped beneath him in a very embarassing state. Even in wolf form she was female enough to know how this looked and snarled and snapped at him. Kaelan on the other hand, her tiger riding her hard, took this as her opportunity and began stalking the she-wolf lying beneath Zack/Kade. She snarled, "Give her to me, Kade....I will stop the idiocy....I mean idiot."

Hearing herself being called an idiot, Sin struggled, her teeth nipping sharply at Kade.

Kade gave a slight growl a rare thing coming from their body as he didn’t even look down to Sin from the nip she gave him his free hand came up Kaelan had just enough time to react with her tiger DNA as the knife whizzed past her arm cutting it and flying on to slam into the wall quivering... “She ain’t no idiot considering she figured why the mark was carved onto your back.” His eyes not even leaving Kaelan’s it was strange to see the demon protective but she probably noticed the speckles of silver floating in the red gaze Zack was finally acting his part as well.

Kaelan yelped when the knife left a bloody graze in her arm and she turned to see it's handle sticking out of the wall. She glared at Kade then her eyes widened and filled with hurt as she saw that Zack was there as well. She snarled at him, advancing again.

Sin had stopped struggling, laying passively beneath him.....only Kade would feel that her muscles were bunched...ready to fight him again should Kaelan try to attack.

Kade slipped his arm from around her neck it planted just in front of him she saw the tendons in his wrist slowly bunching up Sin watched as with some quite aggressive velocity he removed his legs kicking off the ground flipped off her using his hand as a pivot. Zack landed firmly in front of Kaelan his other arm pulled back she knew well enough from observation he was about to punch her straight for the stomach.

Zack at the front of the mind now instead tried to insist on it not being too hard the fist winding back he bit his lower lip...it was to sort out this mess that Kade had constructed though, the bastard. Zack had guessed once Kade had tried to escort him away that something was going to happen and here it was the demon had practically struck a love conflict but...he knew full well which one he loved to protect without his interruption Kade would have killed them both and implanted they had killed each other to him his eyes narrowed at this fact.

Kaelan didn't have time to do anything but brace for the impact of Zack's fist in her midsection, which thanks to Zack, was toned down so that when it impacted, it knocked her off of her feet, making her feel as she could vomit, but didn't break any bones or injure any vital organs. She landed about 10 feet back, hitting hard, knocking the wind from her and stunning the tigress. Kaelan shook her head, getting to her knees, catching her breath before standing up. She drew the black blade, pulled back to throw when the blur of black fur hit her.

Sin had seen what Kaelan was going to do and leapt to protect Zack's body, her old black blade slicing a groove into her shoulder as she knocked Kaelan off of her feet before shifting back to her human form, holding Kaelan down, blood from her shoulder dripping on the girl. "Give it up, girl......he isn't yours unless he says so and he hasn't said so, but I will kill you if you persist, especially if you try to hurt him in any way."

Kaelan peered into the amber eyes of Sin and knew that she was telling the truth. That was when she realized that even though she cared deeply for Zack, she didn't truly love him. Well, she did, but more as a close friend or brother. She went limp, nodding her head to Sin, admitting her surrender.

Sin rose from the girl, blood streaming down her arm as she held out a hand to help Kaelan up.