For Fame and Glory

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"Kusanagi." Dahlia DeAngelo was grinning from ear to ear as she flopped into the seat opposite her partner in crime. This bar was their favourite haunt when trying to relax, and she had known where to find the other woman right away. She let the word hang for a moment and waved for the attention of the bartender and gestured that she wanted a beer. Dahlia leaned back and let her arms hang over the back of her seat, though it was clear she was damn near bursting with excitement.

Lily kept hold of her husband's hands, aware that she often managed to calm him with no more than a touch. "I brought Gabbi home." She told with a gentle smile.

Justice turned to look at Gabbi and yanked his hands out of Lilly's. Instantly his lip curled and he stomped across the room, slapping the young woman across the face. 
Gabbi had no idea what was going on. Her eyes watered and her breath caught in her throat. 
"This is your fault, seeker." Her foster father snarled. "You put the idea to find these stupid things in her head. No my son is dead and soon my daughter will be too! You should have died when your worthless parents did! I hated them! Slave handlers. Monsters. Like him. You are growing up to be a whore. No better than your mother!"

"Justice!" Lilly hissed, quick to place herself between her husband and Gabbi. "How dare you blame Gabbi for this, for any of it! It was no one's fault but Dahlia's, and you know it!" She added, making it once more quite obvious that she favoured her foster daughter over her own wayward child. "Gabbi is our responsibility because of no one but us!" She added, her piercing blue gaze holding her husband's firmly, knowing they couldn't speak the whole truth in front of Gabbi. "We tried to protect Dahlia from what she was, and ultimately it caused misery for everyone."

Justice was scowling deeply. "I never should have vowed to protect those fools. They got themselves killed.  They deserved what happened. All the magicks in the world could save them!" He turned his cat like eyes on Gabbi narrowing them at her. "I warned you even then to stay away from my family! Cursed child! Murder!"

Lily suddenly slapped her husband, her own eyes narrowed up at him. "What happened was our fault! Even as a half blooded Djinn Dahlia had power over wishes, even her own." She added in a hushed whisper. "We were mourning our son, we never saw the signs that she had inherited anything at all."

As her parents argued over what kind of confused screw up their daughter was, she was following a trail to Gabbi's laptop. Dahlia had always had an overpowering need to keep promises she made to her sister.

Justice turned away from his mate and the girl he considered cursed, hating her for breathing. The hotel room door slammed, shaking the walls and sending other guests into furious shouts of protest. 
Gabbi had already made a beeline for the bathroom and locked herself in, hiding in the shower in the darkness. Sobs escaped her before she could help them. Murderer. Cursed child. She was the reason her parents were dead. She'd always known it.

Lily sighed softly and simply sat on the edge of the bed, her back straight as her fists clenched in her lap. Dahlia had wished for a sister, days later Gabbi's parents were dead. She should have been paying attention to her youngest child, she should have seen the signs. Instead she had been hunting down the man who stole their son. Even as all these thoughts played out, she was mad as hell at Justice. He had no right taking it out on Gabbi.

Dahlia had started her search at the hotel she and Gabbi were still checked into. Perhaps whoever had taken the laptop had come here looking for Gabbi too. She was blissfully unaware of the events that were unfolding.

Gabbi couldn't stop crying. She cred so hard so got to the point where she couldn't catch her breath. It had been a long time since she had even shed real tears, she'd forgotten what grief sounded and felt like. 

"May i help you?" A dark eyed desk clerk was watching Dahlia as she entered. "You seem like you are looking for something."

Gabbi's sobs broke Lilly's heart. The golden haired girl was so very precious to her, and to hear her pain like this was torture. The elder woman seemed to appear on the other side of the door without even opening it before pulling the girl into her arms. "I'm so sorry... For everything. Perhaps you should wish to have never met my family..." She breathed.

"No, I'm fine." Dahlia replied, not going to the desk, but straight for the elevator. "Just a pit stop before I head out for the day." She added with false cheer and an equally false smile.

"There's no such thing as wishing..." Gabbi whispered, her words hoarse and barely audible. "There's no such thing as magick."

"I see." The clerk said with a dark smile. "Good luck with that."

"Oh child... How I wish that was true." Lily breathed into the younger woman's hair as she held her.

Dahlia only saw the dark smile as the elevator doors were sliding shut and she was already ascending to the 10th floor.

"If it were, wishes would come true." Gabbi whispered softly. "I've had so many...even tonight...I can't even have children..."

She was out of the elevator just a few steps when Rama slammed into her. The tall dark man sent the young woman sprawling and stalked after her, snarling. "You had the nerve to come back here after all you and your family did!"

"Wishes are dangerous, and rather fickle." Lily breathed. "You are still so young, there is so much time for family of your own yet."

Dahlia was scooting backwards slightly even as she scrambled to her feet. "What we did?!" She hissed. "You stole from Gabbi, and then you kidnapped her!"

"I don't want to talk about it." Gabbi whispered, her eyes getting heavy. She'd never told anyone her secret not even Dahlia. She couldn't have children. Not even if she wanted to.

"You came here to steal from me and now you are refusing to leave!" Rama roared. "Why did you come back here?"

Lily kissed Gabbi's temple lightly and sang to her as they both sat there in the bathroom.

"Because all my shit is here." Dahlia replied bluntly as she folded her arms across her chest. "Why are you here?"

"Your father came for your things." Rama said. "He was lucky to leave with them alive. Especially after accusing me of bedding a pathetic creature like you." He added, not answering her question. "Now get out."

Dahlia rolled her eyes like a petulant teen when Rama tossed his insult at her. "Oh yes, because I have such a hard time finding a real man, I must lower my standard to even consider you." She scoffed. "In case it has escaped you, this is a hotel. A public place, you cannot cast me out like your the fucking king of it." Few people dared to speak to Rama the way Dahlia was now.

Rama knelt in front of her, his ice colored eyes locked on hers. "Do you pay much attention to the world around you, my dear? This is far from a hotel. This is my home. There are laws to you just walking into my home. Your father paid the price the first time. Shall I call on him to pay it again?"

For a painfully long moment Dahlia simply stared into Rama's piercing eyes, all thought seeming to leave her until she heard talk of a 'price'. "I can pay my own way." She informed the dark haired man kneeling before her. "Despite what you think, Justice isn't the answer to everything."

"Your father is far too powerful not to be the answer." Rama said, jerking Dahlia to her feet. "You don't have what I want. The only thing you are good for is bait."

Dahlia scoffed and tried to push Rama away. "Bait for what? You forget, I'm not Gabbi. I'm not precious to them. So I guess we're at a stalemate; I have nothing you want, and I'm useless bait. Either kill me, or set me loose. What kind of a man are you?"

"I'm no man, my dear. Haven't you figured that out?" Rama growled, yanking her hard against him. "And trust me, your father worships you. He would die for you. In fact, I'm planning on it."

"Why wont you just let me pay the same price he did?" Dahlia breathed from where she was held firmly against Rama's chest.

"Like I said, you aren't nearly as powerful as he is and...I'm not entirely sure you are like him. " Rama said, tilting her chin up. Once again he looked deeply into her eyes.

Rama would possibly be disappointed to find Dahlia had not inherited her father's golden eyes, but rather her mother's striking deep blue gaze that often bordered on violet. Once more Dahlia found herself falling into Rama's own eyes, like something was pulling her to him. "Of course I'm not like him..." She breathed, though her usually velvety voice was oddly strained. "Everyone yearns for Justice at some point."

Rama hated himself but a moment later his lips were touching hers. The taste of Dahlia was irresistible. He wasn't sure if he could control himself.

Dahlia tried to resist, but even she was finding it hard. She didn't know if it was the rebellious child in her that only wanted Rama because her father forbade it, or that she was simply lonely, but it took longer than it should have for her to pull herself away.

Rama let her go and stood staring at her, his own icy cat like eyes never leaving her face. "Get out." He hissed, turning his back on her. "Leave here and never come back. The payment is...acceptable..."

Dahlia was staring at Rama's back, her feet frozen in place. She still couldn't understand him, as twice he had kissed her, and twice he regretted it. Dahlia knew he deserved the regret of the first kiss, afterall... she did bite him. "I can't leave without Gabbi's laptop." She told him, trying to sound firm.

"I don't have the Seeker's notebook. It isn't here. Now go!" He roared, pointing toward the elevators.