She moved silently through the winding alleyways of Dublin, following the trail of blood that spattered the slightly damp pavement. The hood of her black jacket was up, hiding her blonde waves from the eyes of anyone that happened to glance out into the darkness of night. She caught a quick glimpse of the tall man she was pursuing and her pace sped up. She kept her head down and her eyes on the trail of blood as she let a small athame slide out from her sleeve. She turned and saw the man straight ahead, then took off into a sprint, her boots making quick slapping noises. The man turned around and slowly spread his arms, welcoming her. She had the athame in her hand and was gripping it. All of the effort to be inconspicuous had been abandoned as she caught up the the man.
“Give up already. You should have been taken in by the Council a long time ago,” she said, in a sweet Irish accent. The man grinned at her and said nothing. “If you surrender now, no harm will come to you. But if you put up a fight… it’s your funeral.”
“Come now, little un. Do you really care to have a go at me?” the man finally spoke. His voice was odd, a grating voice with a Cockney accent. “I’m the Ripper, luv. So come and ‘ave a go if you think that you can take me all on your own.”
“Well then. I think I just may have to take you up on that offer,” she replied. She flung herself toward him, the athame flashing in the moonlight. He quickly dodged and twisted away, giggling maniacally. He reached over and grabbed her wrist, twisting until the knife clattered to the ground. He pulled out a straight razor and yanked her to him.
“Now, luv, tell me what your name is, and I will make sure your death is quick,” he whispered.
“Bite me, Jack,” she hissed back. He laughed and pressed a razor deeper into her neck, nicking the skin. She set her jaw and glared ahead. “I’d rather not die at all, thank you very much.”
“Seems you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble, Phoenix. Want me to lend a hand?” came a smooth voice from behind them. Jack spun around to face a girl with short dark hair and a black outfit similar to Phoenix’s.
“Faye! It’s about time you showed up,” Phoenix grumbled. Faye shrugged and, maintaining her bored expression, she flicked her hand and sent Jack flying into an alley wall.
“I was busy with other matters,” the other girl, Faye, explained. “What were you doing, playing the weak little girl or something?”
“I had a plan. And you ruined it by not being here,” Phoenix snapped. “Now, let’s argue later, we have a more pressing matter on our hands.” She gestured at Jack, who had come barging toward them. She snapped her hand out and shadows flew from her fingers. “You were supposed to ambush him while I was playing bait, Faye. You were supposed to be here.”
“You can handle yourself,” Faye replied, stretching her arms over her head as the shadows wrapped around his wrists and ankles.
“Well, you still messed up my plan,” she muttered, twisting her hand and bringing Jack to his knees. “I didn’t want to use methods like this until it was the only option. I’d rather just play bait. It’s awkward to be one of the most powerful people in the Council.”
“Awkward? Please, it just gives you respect amongst other members,” Faye said, waving her hand dismissively.
“Also gets me a lot of death threats,” Phoenix said, pulling out a set of reinforced handcuffs with one hand and walking over to Jack. She lowered the hand that was controlling the shadows, and the blackness darted away and dispersed like smoke. She leaned down and handcuffed Jack, then dragged the whimpering man to his feet.
“I think you broke m’ arm,” he whimpered.
“Oh, do hush. I only dislocated your shoulder and sprained your wrist,” Phoenix snapped. “And it wasn’t even really me. My pets did the work, I just commanded them.”
“You know that it was technically you, right? Your… pets don’t have a mind of their own. You’re a necromancer, it’s your power. Those shadows aren’t “pets,”” Faye mumbled. Phoenix glared at her and shoved Jack forward.
“It makes me feel better about what I do though,” she snapped. Faye raised her hands in surrender and followed her to the sleek black sports car. Phoenix unlocked the doors and shoved Jack into the back seat. She slid behind the wheel and Faye clambered into the passenger seat.
“Feel better? Come on, you are one of the coolest chicks in the Council,” Faye responded. Phoenix rolled her eyes and said nothing, instead pulling away from the curb.
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