Fifteen

It'd been over four months since he'd seen her last, a length that felt like a lifetime in of itself. Of course, he'd been preoccupied with the supernatural in that timespan, but just looking down at his sister now made his heart skip a beat and his entire body feel aged beyond itself. Or maybe that was the cigarettes talking.

"We need to go." The Magistrate man closed his fingers around the back of Oliver's coat and jerked him back, much to Oliver's surprise. Lilith whimpered from her spot on the ground, creating sounds that churned Oliver's stomach.

Lilith...

The pressure around the nape of Oliver's neck lessened. Using one hand to rub out his aching shoulders, he took a step forward and tilted his head to the side.

"Lilith? You can... see me?"

"Never mind that!" The pinch returned to the back of Oliver's neck as the Magistrate man – Magic Man, the Scourge had called him – leaned close. "We have to go. We can't stay in this situation."

Oliver rammed his elbow into the man's chest. "Piss off."

Before them, Lilith continued to cry.

"Look at her," the man insisted. "She's obviously compromised. I don't want to be the one to explain to the Magistrate why you're interfering; do you?"

"But the Scourge..."

"We just got our asses handed to us."

"But it's not like I can take her anywhere..."

The man arched an eyebrow. "All the more reason why you should leave. You can't protect her on your own. You're a detective, not a brawler."

It was at this that Lilith snapped to attention, fixing them both with a glare that turned Oliver's blood to ice. "I'm right here, you know."

Before Oliver could process it, Lilith had jumped to her feet and left a hand-shaped sting on Oliver's cheek.

"Johnson!"

Oliver stared off into the distance, seeing and yet not seeing the brown-skinned, wild-eyed girl before him. The pain warmed his cheeks and made his eyes water.

Lilith made to slap him again, but must have reconsidered at the last second. Her hands dropped to her sides. "I waited for you," she breathed. "It's been four months. I waited."

Oliver swallowed, hard, his heart thudding in his ears.

The Magistrate man's hand closed around the back of Oliver's duster once more. "We need to leave."

Lilith jumped forward. "You can't!" She reached for Oliver's wrist and held it in a vice-grip.

It should have hurt, Oliver reflected as he looked between the two of them. The tips of her nails dug into his forearms, over the old scars that had led him here. The pressure reminded him of razor blades and spilt blood.

Is it the dilations that make me like this or is it the shock?

Before anyone could answer him, his cellphone buzzed inside his pocket. Lilith's eyes widened as the Magistrate man came between them and, with a single wave of his hand, broke Lilith's grip. It wasn't until her touch left his that Oliver realized he'd been wanting to hold her, too.

"Answer that, Johnson. Then we have to go."

Oliver nodded and slipped his hand into his pocket. It vibrated again in his palm when he took his phone out and read the name in the window.

You've got to be joking. His boss's name flashed again and again, looking every bit as smug as the face of the man it belonged to when Oliver pictured it. He didn't have time to dawdle.

"Uh, hullo, Director."

A heavy exhale. Either Gonzalez was pissed or he had just gone for a run. Oliver was willing to bet on the former.

"I should've expected this much from you. I really should just write you up right now, you know."

"You should, but you won't."

"Don't be so sure of that. Where the hell are you?"

"It's..." Oliver glanced around the living room before continuing. "It's kind of a long story."

"So summarize for me."

Before he could respond, the Magistrate man plucked the phone from Oliver's grasp and held it to his ear.

"Director Gonzalez? Yes, hello, Director, this is Magi Raphael." He waited a moment, rolled his eyes, and then continued. "No, Johnson is not in trouble. Well..." He paused and looked Oliver up and down. "Not of the immediate sort."

Lilith side-stepped around him and reached for Oliver's hand again. "Who the hell is this guy?" she asked. "And why are you here? You're..." Her voice caught and she stopped, meeting Oliver's gaze with tear-streaked cheeks. "You're supposed to be dead, you fucking idiot!"

With this, she let his hands go and shoved him backwards. Oliver gasped and struggled to regain his footing before putting both his hands out.

"Let's not get too hostile," he said. Inside his chest he felt as though someone had inflated a balloon and was now threatening to pop it. Either way, he would be left with a hole.

"Did you not figure out how to die right or something?" Lilith replied, her words razor-sharp against Oliver's ears. Her fists rained down on him, a blow for every word. "You should be gone!"

At "gone", instead of hitting him again, Lilith instead gave a small sigh and returned her hands to her sides. Moments later, she fell to her knees and covered her mouth with a hand. For the first time since he'd arrived, remorse swept through Oliver's body.

I shouldn't have thought to come here. What was I thinking?

His chest still carried the feel of Lilith's fists on it.

"Why aren't you gone...?" Came her muffled words. "You're supposed to be gone... I was supposed to be getting better..." Her eyes narrowed and they locked gazes. "I was supposed to be healing from the damage you caused! But half of my therapists are dead or fucking crazy! It's your fault, isn't it?"

Just as soon as it had come, her rage melted out of her. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and trailed down her cheeks as her gaze went to down to the floor. Oliver could've sworn there had been a strange edge to her words, but he couldn't discern what it was.

Raphael came forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "His involvement, or lack thereof, is the least of your worries now," he said. She flinched in response but didn't take his hand away. He looked up. "Oliver?"

Oliver looked between him and his sister, the hollow feeling swelling in his chest. When he opened his mouth, the words stopped short on his tongue and refused to move further. He nodded instead.

"Right. Oliver, here's what we're going to do. You're going to report back to work, right now. I talked your Director down a bit, but he's still pissed. You're going to have to deal with that."

Oliver nodded again to indicate he understood.

"In the meantime... Miss, what was your name, again?"

"It's Lilith," Oliver croaked in response. Lilith didn't look up.

At this, Raphael's eyebrows arched. "An interesting name choice. Miss Lilith, you're going to --"

"Stay here."

At first, Oliver wasn't sure he'd heard her right. The bemused look on Raphael's face told him that the Magistrate man was just as confused as he was. After a moment, Raphael closed Oliver's phone and passed it to him before narrowing his eyes at Lilith.

"Stay, you say?" he asked her. "That's just not safe."

Her gaze remained on the ground beneath her. Maybe she was staring at her clasped hands. Maybe she was looking at the tiny puddles her tears had made on the floor. "I don't care," she replied in monotone. "I can't leave here... I can't..." Now she was tugging at her shirt sleeves and wringing her hands together, her fingers like russet snakes as they tangled and untangled together.

Raphael pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Before Oliver could really comprehend why, the temperature of the room dropped. Hairs all along his arms rose to attention and caused his skin to tingle as they pressed against his coat sleeves.

"The Scourge is back," Raphael murmured. Metal clicked together as he reached into his pocket.

"He's always been here, and he's not going to go away." Lilith replied. Each syllable was a razor that dug into Oliver's ears – and his wrists. His chest tightened when she finally looked up.

Raphael turned, putting his back to the both of them, and sighed. The two jagged tears along his shoulder blades rippled and rustled as his wings pushed free and unfurled. The gnarled hands on the ends clenched and unclenched.

How does he do that?

The thought vanished the moment Abraxas's wavering shadow spread across the floorboards in front of them. Though most of his form was blocked by Raphael's massive wings, the tell-tale shocks of black hair and the necklace of teeth did not escape Oliver's notice.

"The magic man has a plan," Abraxas said, his voice not much more than a hiss. "Wouldn't you agree, Little Dove?"

The moment Abraxas spoke, Lilith's eyes widened and she started rocking back and forth on her knees. "No... No, no, no..."

And just like that, a shadow materialized between Oliver and Lilith, solidifying into Abraxas's hellish form. Oliver flew backwards when a wall of air slammed into him and knocked him to the floor.

Stars danced in his vision. A ringing filled his ears. He was vaguely aware of how the back of his head throbbed, but it was overruled for the moment by the adrenaline in his veins. Something was smoking. He could smell it. A strange heat filled his fingertips.

Abraxas stalked forward until he straddled Oliver's form. His calves pressed into Oliver's ribs and his mouth widened into a sickening smile, each pointed tooth gleaming white and red. "So," he said, "I suppose the dead brother came to join his sister, after all."

Fuck you. Though Oliver couldn't will himself to speak, the thought burned itself into his brain.

Somewhere else in the room, Lilith was screaming his name over and over, her voice melting on itself and turning into a cacophony in Oliver's ears.

Lilith... I was supposed to protect Lilith...

Abraxas planted one bare and decaying foot on Oliver's chest, pressing just enough to make Oliver's breathing catch. "I remember you." He waved a hand and Oliver heard a thud and a curse – did Raphael try to approach them? Abraxas's smile grew and he leaned down until their noses were almost touching. "You shouldn't have come here, Big Brother."

Oliver could only register his wide smile and his array of teeth. Pieces of other people's gums remained lodged in the nooks and crannies. His mouth had a faint red tinge to it.

"Do you always give your targets pet names?"

I know that voice...

Abraxas rose in a mechanical manner and turned his head just a bit. His nostrils flared. "I knew I smelled a blood whore."

Oliver took a hesitant sniff and a strong, metallic scent hit his nose. Blood... Vampire?

The next moment, Abraxas and a black and white shape hurtled past Oliver and collided against the far wall. All the weight on Oliver's body lifted. A renewed vigor filled him. He jumped to his feet.

Long black hair fell around the attacker's shoulders. Oliver swore he caught a glimpse of red-framed glasses as their head bobbed from side to side. They raised a slender hand, their nails extended into pinprick points...

And then Abraxas was smirking. Actually smirking. His body flickered once, twice...He vanished just as the attacker's claws came down on him.

"Oliver!" Lilith called.

The attacker turned around just as Oliver felt hands on his shoulders. Oliver stiffened against the chill on his body, and also at seeing the newcomer's face.

Rei! He could never mistake her button nose and monolid eyes, or the elongated canines in her mouth. The slit in her pupils and the predatory gleam in her gaze could only mean one thing.

She's out for blood.

Once hand came over his mouth. The color flooded out of Rei's face.

"Ginger. Don't move."

A laugh built up in his throat. Move? Where could I move to?

The hand on his shoulder tightened its grip. The hand on his face gave him an experimental jerk by the chin.

"Let him go!" someone screamed.

Crack.

Everything went black. There wasn't even time to feel himself fall.