Chapter 15

Johnny, take a dive with your sister in the rain,
Let her talk about the things you can't explain.
To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal;
If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel.
On your knees, boy.

"Mysterious Ways" -U2

Groggy and out of sorts, Travis found the wherewithal to plow through a good Midwestern breakfast of steak, eggs, and potatoes. Anya seemed to have an appetite as well and cleaned everything off of her plate. When his plate was empty, Travis sagged back against the padded booth waiting for Anya to gather her thoughts. Her face was cloudy.

"I want this over as soon as possible," Anya began, "I cannot face much more of this human world and its soulless violence that desecrates life."

Travis had worried his finger into the bullet hole in his right jacket sleeve, wondering how he survived and then again, why didn't his power port him. He ignored her comment for the moment as he realized that Anya had been running next to him on his right. If he had ported out of the way, then she would have been... He stopped that thought cold.

"You will find nobility and degradation stand beside each other on every street in this world. This world is chaos and from chaos comes all possible things. Condemn what is evil but as you told me, accept it and try to change it," Travis lectured Anya for the first time.

"Spare me your platitudes. You could've died yesterday and of all the burdens I must carry, your death would have destroyed me," Anya volunteered.

Travis sat up straight and grasped her hand. "You love me," he accused her. "You care for me and are afraid to admit it."

"What I feel or don't feel is of no consequence as of today. We will confront Mithdrilatha in a few hours and then we are done. You will get your reward and I will return to Mother."

"Mother? That's the name your father used. Who is Mother?"

Anya assumed her own lecturing voice, "'Who or what is Mother?' is the proper question. She is The Mother of All and she is the creator and sustainer of my realm. You may mistakenly think of her as a god but despite her godlike powers, she is a living being."

"Travis scratched his head with confusion, "Is she akin to Death?"

"No, all living beings are subject to death. Mother made us aware and introduced us to Death that we may live fuller lives." Anya jerked back her hand lest she derive any enjoyment of the contact, "let's go get my sister."

"No," Travis held out with a shake of his head. "let's sit a moment longer and figure out how we are going to approach your sister and her boyfriend, before we get shot at again."

"I need to touch my sister in order to bind her. You need to get me in the door and get the boyfriend out of my way."

"What about your sister coming after me?" Travis put on the table.

"She has strong power and now the soulless willingness to channel power like a weapon, probably one that burns the body, if I know her. Your power should put you out of harm's way but don't rely on it; she certainly has much more power than you."

"Anything else?" Travis asked and when she said nothing he added, "let's do it."

A slight drizzle accompanied them as they made their way down Interstate 44 towards the little town of Eureka. Their moods were glum.

As they got off at the exit, Travis noted that there was a country club somewhere to the left but Anya pointed determinedly toward the right. They wound through some rutted streets and ended up in front of an old tract home with a battered chain link fence around it. The only grass was outside of the property. Shingles were missing and half a rusted car leaned against the side of the house.

"Charming," Travis commented as he stepped over a wheel base lying on its side. "do we knock or just crash the door?"

"If she is paying attention, she knows that I am here already. She is not fleeing."

"Then 'knock' is the word of the day," Travis decided with false cheeriness.

He banged on the door and waited. Heavy steps could be heard coming towards the door and Travis felt his asshole begin to screw tight in anticipation. The door swung open and a fat blubbery head with no hair stared down at him. Travis took a quick guess of 275 lbs as he cocked his head with false bravado.

"Tell Misty her sister is here to see her." Travis ordered abruptly.

The huge head swung to the side and took in Anya's face. He wiped the dripping snot from his nose and rubbed it on his pants leg when finally he judged, "She looks like her sister."

Travis was amazed that he could put that many words together into a coherent sentence. Bullet head snorted once and spit a huge gob at Travis's feet. Travis wanted desperately to jump back but he held his ground thanking fate that he at least wore steel toe boots.

"Misty, your sister is here to see you," The behemoth yelled.

A harsh voice yelled back, "Tiny, which fucking sister is it?"

"Move aside," Anya demanded, "I have come too far to put up with this disrespect. She knows who I am and why I have come." Anya grabbed the huge man's arm and froze him in place long enough for her to squeeze past his bulk.

Travis tried to burst past the way but Tiny had managed to bring his limbs back to life and latched onto Travis's arm with an iron grip. Not to be derailed from protecting Anya, he stomped his boot on the big man's insole and was rewarded with a litany of cursing. He pushed past and pulled up short.

The sisters faced each other with hatred and determination written on the different faces. They circled with their hands in front of their bodies like wrestlers waiting to jump each other.

"Traitor!" Misty spat. "You promised me freedom and now you want to take me back. I'm not going back to Mother. I'll never serve that awful bitch again. I'm free and I'd rather die than be bound to her again."

Anya didn't waver, "You shall not die, Sister, but you are one of the seven. You will return and serve."

"Then you will die in my place, Zithme'anya. People die easily here and it will give me great joy to re-introduce you to Death."

Misty raised her hand and launched a bolt at Anya, which she dodged only to trip over a box of garbage. Misty brought about her other hand, the one Anya couldn't see and prepared to strike. Travis used his boot again and kicked her hand as she fired off another round. The ceiling exploded with debris and smoke.

Travis stepped back only to feel powerful arms wrap around him with crushing pressure.

"What do you want me to do with him?" Tiny growled in between coughs.

"Hold him still" and she fired a blast at Travis, he watched the blueness hone in and then, like last time, he didn't. The smoke was thick and the mountain of fat and muscle was screaming in agony.

"Oh shit! Oh shit!" Misty cried out, trying to blast everything she could see. Anya leapt back into the fray and grabbed her sister's hands with her own. Both their eyes grew wide until another explosion of energy sent all of them flying backwards against walls, furniture and onto their backs.

Travis shook his head to clear the ringing in his ears. He glanced over at the nearest body, Tiny's, and turned away hastily when he saw the burnt clothes and blistered skin on the man's torso. He pinched his nose to force out the smell of burnt flesh.

He crawled over the broken furniture to where he thought the sisters would be. Misty sat flat against the wall; her eyes were open and unblinking. Anya lay on the floor, curled up in a ball and unmoving. Bits of pink insulation floated in air and smoke curled along the ceiling following currents that Travis couldn't feel. He lifted himself up on his knees not knowing whether he could turn his back on Misty in order to check on Anya.