A note concerning Cassandra (Project: Lodestar 7)

Cassandra felt like she had to drag herself the last few feet to her door. An echoing crash of thunder rattled the apartment building. Moments later the hallways plunged into darkness. Emergency lights quickly turned on, but did little besides add texture to the shadowy gloom. Cassandra opened her door. Something was nagging her just behind the eyes, but she couldn’t figure out what. She dropped her coat and headed to the kitchen to get a candle. The pressure behind her eyes increased. The air was heavy and charged. With trembling hands Cassandra retrieved and lit a candle from the cupboard. She returned to the common room and almost dropped the candle in shock.

“Hello, Cass. It’s been awhile.” Ansel smiled and stood up.

“No…” Cassandra’s voice was small.

“What? Not happy to see me?” Ansel’s hand flickered with brief motion and two short rods flew across the room and pinned her to the wall by the shoulders. The pain was excruciating. “I guess this isn’t too big a surprise for you, so I’ll let it go.”

She tried to block out the pain and focus her mind. Between sharp breaths she spoke, “How?”

“How what?”

“How is that you’re not dead?”

Ansel’s grin was strangely luminescent in the darkness. “A little trick I picked up from Alex. It was touch and go for awhile, but I’m a stubborn bastard.”

“What about the Tomb?”

“That was a clever move, I’ll give you that, and it would have worked great if you had gotten me into it. Unfortunately for you, there may have been some confusion with the bodies towards the end there. My fault really.” Ansel sighed and shook his head. “Poor Benjamin didn’t quite know what he was getting into when he signed on with me. Still, you know the saying about omelets and eggs.” Just as Cassandra was getting the pain under control Ansel reached out and ground one of the rods around in her shoulder. She tried to bite back the scream but couldn’t and almost blacked out. He cupped a hand to her cheek and an invigorating jolt coursed through her body filling her with energy but doing nothing for the pain. “Now now, can’t have you blacking out just yet,” chided Ansel.

“Just do whatever it is you’re going to do, Ansel. I’m not stupid, I know where this is headed.”

“So curt!” Ansel moved his hand from her cheek and brushed her hair from her face. His eyes were bright with a mad energy. “Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

Cassandra coughed, and the pain elicited a whimper. “Curious? Why? So I could listen to you boast?” She almost instinctively shrugged, but caught herself at the last minute. “No Ansel, I don’t care. I know you’re fucked up. I know there’s nothing I can say that will change what you’re going to do. I’m not going to play along and give you whatever sick enjoyment you’re looking for. So either do what you’re going to do, or piss off and get me the fuck down.”

The glee and congeniality left Anel’s features. The heaviness in the air increased to oppressive levels. Lightning flashed and illuminated his scowl. “You think you’re just so damn clever, don’t you? Where’s your precious foresight now?” Ansel punctuated his question with a backhand that split her lip open.

Cassandra began to panic. Ansel wasn’t letting her concentrate. “I’ve already warned the others. The instant you kill me they’ll know for sure.”

“What, is that supposed to scare me? The lot of you couldn’t kill me before and you had Steven then. He's gone and soon you'll be joining him, what makes you think things will be any different this time? No, I’ve already accounted for their awareness.” Ansel’s right hand became enveloped in coruscating blue light. He placed it on her stomach, and with a sizzle it passed seamlessly through the flesh into her abdomen. Cassandra forgot all about her shoulders, her apartment, even Ansel. Nothing else could compare to the agony. Ansel waited until a semblance of sentience returned to her eyes and for the screaming to die down. He flexed his fingers within her and smiled as she writhed. He stepped in close, his cheek brushing against hers and slowly moved his hand up towards her ribs. “I’ve always been very curious about something, Cassandra. Just before I killed Steven I felt this flash, this warning that he was about to die. It came as a surprise and I always wondered if the rest of you felt it too. I’m guessing at least some of you did. That bastard Grey blinked in and almost stopped me. He was confused though, I don’t think he’s used to operating on instinct. That cost Steven his life.” Half the length of Ansel’s forearm had penetrated into her torso. He ran his fingers along the surface of her heart, felt its frantic pulse. “There it was! The same flash! Did you feel it Cass? Did the others? I’ll have to be sure to ask them when we meet.” He gently kissed her cheek and drew back slightly to look into her eyes. The blue gaze that stared back was defiant. “Good bye, Cassandra.” He held her heart in his hand and he squeezed.