The First Lock - 33. Part 3, chapter 6

- VI -

Roxanne was on her seventh cigarette when all of a sudden, she wanted to go into the bathroom and take a hot shower. The desire was overwhelming. She stabbed her cigarette in the saucer and headed towards the bathroom, anticipating that shower with a tingling, sweet shiver. Then she slowed down just a little and frowned. This was bizarre, she thought. She took a shower last night, right before going to bed. It was only 6:45 in the morning... She loved her shower, but she never craved it like a drug before.

Her eyes immediately flew towards that little brat who was sitting next to the wall. He seemed to be half-asleep. She narrowed her eyes. No, she thought. The brat wouldn’t be able to make her feel this way. The desire was far too powerful. A cold shiver ran down her spine. Is the brat’s father here? She felt a pang of panic. How the hell was he able to get here? He couldn’t work portals... Also, how did he even find out about the kid? She bit her lip harder, trying to stop her body from walking towards the bathroom. It seemed as if her body had a mind of its own, and it ignored every single impulse her brain frantically sent down. She kept walking against her will.

“Son of a bitch!” she thought helplessly and bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood in her mouth.

That seemed to help a little bit, and a flash of pain was finally able to give her at least some control over herself. She knew it wouldn’t last long, therefore, she immediately dove into magic streams, frantically digging through everything within her reach. She found the one she needed rather soon, to her enormous relief. She furiously pulled on it and concentrated hard on the intrusive influence.

“One...” she whispered with effort. “Two... Three... And choke on it, you son of a bitch!”

She sent an insanely powerful jolt of energy and hatred along the invisible line that connected her and that damn mind controller. The jolt was so strong that she swayed on her feet and grabbed onto the wall when everything around her spun with nauseating speed for a few seconds. The hold on her mind lessened immediately, and after a second or two, it was gone completely.

Roxanne took a very deep shaky breath and regained her balance. “One mind-fucker less,” she thought with dark satisfaction. She knew that the jolt as powerful as the one she just sent could kill an elephant, let alone some dipshit human mind controller. She hummed in satisfaction, and then frowned again. “Hold on,” she thought. “He sent me into the shower... That means he wanted me out of the way... Because he was planning on getting inside and getting the kid or...”

She glanced out of the window and cursed in a harsh, quiet whisper. It was Katrena herself. How in bloody hell was she even able to find her? She shook her head. It didn’t matter now. If the mind-fucker wanted her out of the way, it meant that Katrena was Locked. Not that Roxanne doubted that – if that bitch wasn’t Locked when Roxanne showed up at her house, the blonde would be screaming in agony right now because she knew that Katrena would definitely stretch her execution for as long as she possibly could. Also, there was the fact that it was utterly impossible to break all three Locks. Yeah, but how was the mind controller able to get here...?

“Never mind that now,” her inner voice whispered urgently. “Incapacitate her, and let her watch that brat die... Forget about September second; do it now! Jonas would agree, and you know that!”

Yes, she knew that. Making sure that she was out of sight, she stepped behind the wall and waited patiently . She knew that she didn’t have to hide – the woman was Locked, for crying out loud! -- but she couldn’t help but feel a huge desire (her own this time) to play something out in a theatrical manner. Let her think that she is safe, Roxanne thought with a small smile. Let her think that she managed to save the kid... And then let her crash into hell full speed.

She stood still, waiting. Finally, she heard the sound of the door opening, and her smile became wider.

****

Katrena opened the door carefully, trying not to make any noise. She knew that Jett would definitely keep the hateful blonde out of the way, but she was cautious nevertheless. She stepped inside and glanced around. She saw Damien right away; it seemed he was alone, and he was asleep.

“Damien!” she breathed and dashed towards him.

He jerked and raised his head, peeling his eyes open, blinking in confusion.

“Mom...?” he said uncertainly, as if thinking that he was still dreaming. He blinked again. “Mom!”

“Shhh!” she said urgently and kneeled next to him. “Where is that...” She bit her tongue when she almost said ‘bitch.’ “...woman?” she said instead.

“I don’t know,” he muttered, his hands shaking. “Oh, mom...!”

“Pull yourself together, monkey!” Katrena said quickly, studying the handcuffs that kept him chained to the radiator. “Don’t cry, okay? We’ll have time for that later...!” She yanked on the chain. It wouldn’t give. Well, shit, she thought.

“I am not a monkey,” he sniffled, but didn’t cry.

“You are a monkey,” she nodded and hugged him tightly. “God, Damien...” She didn’t say anything else; she just buried her face in his hair, going dizzy from his scent.

Finally, she let him go and thoughtfully looked at the handcuffs. She chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds, then shrugged, and decided to reach for magic streams, figuring that Conjuring might come in quite handy right now. Right when she was about to reach for the streams, Damien’s body had gone rigid, and he screamed:

“Mom! Look out!”

She whirled around, but she was a second too late. A powerful jolt of what felt like electricity, hit her in the back and she flew face-forward into the wall, hitting her forehead against it hard. Everything blinked out of existence for a few seconds. “Oh, fuck me, no!!” she thought furiously and brought her teeth down onto her tongue. A brilliant-white flash of pain immediately redefined focus, and the world stopped shimmering.

“Here we are,” Roxanne said in a smug and amused tone of voice. “I have to admit -- that was rather smart and bold... Getting in here, even though you are Locked...” she slowly clapped her hands. “Bravo! Motherly instinct is indeed stronger than the survival one, even though I didn’t believe it... By the way,” she added. “...bringing your mind controller was a very good move,” she said with a small nod. “Too bad he is gone now,” she shrugged, and Katrena froze.

“Now,” the blonde continued in a light voice, as if they were discussing some movie. “I know that I told you about the second of September, but you mixed up my cards...” She sighed somewhat theatrically. “Jonas wouldn’t mind though,” she sighed again. “So stay put, darling...” She moved one of her fingers, and Katrena felt as if an enormous weight pinned her down. “Enjoy the show!” the blonde said with laughter and raised her hand.

“No!!”

“Mom!!”

They screamed at the same time, and Katrena reached for all four elements at once. The weight disappeared, and the blonde staggered backwards when a wave of water drenched her instantly, and the wind shoved her with furious strength. Katrena reached for Damien, but right before she was able to grasp his fingers, everything around him (himself included) set ablaze. Katrena screamed when the fire she had nothing in common with at this particular moment, burned her skin. She involuntarily drew her hand back, screaming nonstop while watching the kid burn. She threw a fountain of cascading water onto the fire, but it bounced off immediately and drenched her in a suffocating wave. She knew a Reflector when she met one, and this one was incredibly strong.

She jumped up and unleashed all her fury onto the stunned-looking blonde who just stood there, it seemed – her eyes wide, mouth agape. Katrena reached out for whatever spell the blonde cast, screaming, “Undo! Undo!!” in her head – taking care of someone’s spell used to be a child’s game to her. Nothing happened. It felt as if the blonde somehow managed to hide every single trace of the spell she just cast – Katrena couldn’t get hold of anything. She didn’t care about retribution or revenge right now; she didn’t care that she wanted the blonde bitch to suffer for as long as Katrena could stretch it; she didn’t give a flying shit that her hand was covered in blisters from all that fire the damn blonde cast on Damien. She simply brought raw brute force onto the woman, who didn’t stand a chance against all the fury and desperation. Roxanne DeLuca’s last word was, “Please...” and then, she collapsed onto the floor in a lifeless heap.

She was able to call the elements down after what seemed an eternity. She was shaking all over, unable to look at Damien’s remains. Tears ran down her face nonstop, as if she was one broken faucet.

“Mom...?” she heard a very tentative voice, and at first, she thought she was hallucinating. “Mom...” the same voice called, more urgent this time. “You okay...?”

She slowly turned around, and then she just blinked very rapidly when she saw his face – dirty, tear-stained, ash-covered face. Those winter-blue eyes looked like two bright diamonds against all soot and dirt. This time he did cry, but so did she.

“D-D...” she stuttered. “Damien...? How... Oh, God... How did you manage to survive her spell...? How...” and she choked on her tears.

“I...” he gasped for air. “I don’t think it was her...” he finally squeezed. “I think...” he sniffled. “I think it was me...”