End of Watch

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Judas Carmichael hated rain. He also hated the orc that stood in groups across the street from him. It didn't help that his partner belonged to the same social class as they did. It also didn't help that the orc group hated his partner. 
They were throwing up gang signs behind the other man's back, pretending to shoot at him and it wasn't the first or the last time they would do it. 
"Hey, Ruvik!" He barked, finally tired of standing in one place while the other man decided whether he wanted an orc burger or a bronto thigh. Both smelled like death. "Today, please! Geez, I swear four elves have died in the time it's taking you to decide on that garbage."

Viola looked up at Talon with those dull eyes that betrayed the pain she was in. “Liar.” She whispered, though their captive audience would have no trouble hearing it. “You let her do this to me!”
Darbok quickly realised this should not be a public affair and with a booming voice started to clear people out of the church, motioning for Molly to stick close to him.

“Wouldn’t you rather take a long... slow... painful time laying waste to her?” She asked, using a single finger to gently turn his face to watch the broken heap she had made of her daughter. “I hate her for it... but she gave you some of your power back, perhaps you should simply suck the bitch dry? Then...” Celia’s dark red lips curled into a sudden smile. “Then you could destroy the entire city. Imagine... no humans... no orcs... just perfection.”

Talon stumbled back, hitting the rail that protected the priest from the choir loft. Foam was forming at the corners of his mouth. "You took everything. You wrote the note.You...left...me...your goodbye...not mine..."

"I'm done with punishing her. I've stolen her power. I want to watch something burn." Kandomere hissed.

Viola was shaking her head, though the motion left her feeling like it was tiny lead balls rattling round inside her skull. “I would never!” She sobbed, trying to drag herself up and move closer to Talon. 
Before the young woman made it very far, Lillian stepped forward and slapped the smaller woman hard enough to send her tumbling back down the marble steps. 
Viola felt her skull crack against the hard ground, but she still tried to reach her fingers out for Talon. He was slipping away from her, so far away... or was she the one fading?

Celia actually smiled. “Glad to finally hear it.” She breathed as orcs and humans seemed to stampede out of the church.

Molly knelt beside Viola, her fingers sliding in the blood. "You're an ugly bride." She hissed at Lillian, pulling the little elf into her arms. "Practically everyone here was laughing at you."

Kandomere stood up, his wand aimed at the door behind them. He whispered the word for fire.

Lillian’s grey eyes narrowed in hatred at the blonde who was daring to help the elf who had ruined everything. The tall woman was moving down the steps when Viola found her voice again. 
“Molly... get out...” She wheezed, pulling herself from the other woman is arms to shakily get to her feet. “Not safe...” As she again tried to get to Talon, Lillian this time kicked the elf hard enough to send her sprawling on her back.

 Celia watched the stragglers panic and try to find other exits as the fire began to spread. It was mayhem, in the most perfect sense of the word.

Molly lost her temper. She grabbed one of the fake pillars at the end of the pew and swung it into Lillian's long legs, taking the other woman off her feet. It seemed the Fogteeth guards insistence on her training with them was doing her good after all. 

Talon had tumbled into the choir loft, his vision hazy. He could hear Lillian shouting but it didn't matter so much now. His angel had at least come to tell him she hated him to his face. 

Unlike those who were not trained in the art of magick, Kandomere was a good in his own right. He made the fire and simple murders that followed look like a dance. It was truly a sight to behold. His icy eyes danced with the flames. This was his element. He was master here.

Lillian howled, screaming something about her dreams being ruined by a dumb blonde. 

Viola had used Molly’s distraction to find her way to Talon, now sitting with his head in her lap as she whispered for him not to forget her.

Celia danced around Kandomere like a deranged groupie, thrilled with the destruction he was causing with such little effort.

Molly hit Lillian again, this time hard enough to crack her ribs. "Crazy bitch!" She snarled. 

"You still smell the same. Rain...oh god. I'll be...with .the rain...it's all I ever...wanted...will you take me..." His fingers shook as he rested them on her hair. "So short...it's not yours. But so soft...god..I miss you." 

Kandomere stopped when he saw the enormous orc at the end of isle. He knew the other man was studying his wand. When their eyes met the orc knew what it was made of. "This is the part where you realize, I win." He purred, his long fingers caressing it.

Lillian howled once more, then flew at Molly, brandishing the thin heel of her shoe like a weapon.

Viola sobbed softly, a fat tear that was tainted pink with her blood dripping onto Talon’s cheek. “Silly boy...” she whisperered, seeing the foam at his mouth and knowing right away what was happening. “Stupid... silly... innocent boy...” 

Darbok didn’t need to see the wand, he could smell what it was. It smelled like Molly, and right away he knew why he had been unable to. Ring her son back to her.

Molly threw the much taller woman over her body, rolling under a pew. She grabbed for her own shoe, knowing it wasn't nearly as sharp. This was going down hill. She needed to remember what the guards had trained her. 

"She'll...never let me go." Talon whispered. "I was dying...for a long time...I miss you..." She was still soft, even with the blood matting her hair. Just like the first night. "The rain...when we met..."

Kandomere raised the wand, whispering the word for death. The most trustworthy of his guards dove in front of his boss, taking the hit and exploding into thousands of pieces. It left nothing but bones on the floor.

Lillian was more annoyed that her dress was getting ruined than anything else. In fact, she didn’t even seem to realise that end of the expensive silk was now on fire.

“You saved me.” Viola whispered, closing her eyes as Talon brought up the old memory. “You made me whole again, and... she couldn’t shatter the pieces you glued back together.” She whispered, stroking his cheek gently. The young elf pushed her small finger she into an angry looking wound in her shoulder. She grunted with the pain, and a moment later she pulled out the glowing tip of a wand. “My mother... she liked to watch me bleed, while she got high on the magic.” She smiled again, though this time her eyes could barely remain open. With the last of her strength, Viola pushed the wand tip into Talon’s chest, with the wish that he was made well again.

Darbok barely even flinched, no matter how angry the loss of life had made him. “Such an elf... to hide behind magick.” He remarked coolly. “Take that wand away, and what are you? A weak boy who hides behind his woman.”

Molly let the fire have her. She rolled over the other side and tossed her shoes, making a run for Darbok.

Talons breath of life made even the fire go still. The entire church was alive with life. The wand in kandomere's hand reacted to it, burning so hot it burned him. He was so surprised he dropped it, making the mistake of taking a long moment to reach for it as he tried to figure out what had happened.

Viola had used the last of her strength ensuring Talon was safe. As he sucked in a gasping breath, her head had fallen back against the wood panel behind her, her battered body finally seeming to give up.

Darbok heard the wand drop, but didn’t take his eyes off Kandomere. It was an odd event happening around them, and he swore he caught the faintest smell of fresh grass as the fire stilled.

Molly touched the grass, her heart aching in her chest. She stopped where she was the sound of an infant's laughter filling her ears. She closed her eyes and saw the glow of a spirit near her. It was the size of a tiny child. Her child. It broke her heart. 

"Darbok...what happened?" Talon asked looking around them at the ruined church. It was then that it started to rain.

Darbok shook his head. “Get your girl and get out of here, I got this.” He breathed, keeping his gaze flicking between the wand and Kandomere. The elf knew Darbok couldn’t pick it up, but there were now more people in the church who could touch it, than couldn’t.

Talon turned, his gaze on Lillian for half a second. And then he saw her. His girl. He ran for her, gathering her into his arms. Then he did what Darbok told him and ran, pushing the long-legged now former bride aside as he ran. 

Molly was the one to pick up the wand though she had no idea she had. In her mind she was craddling the lost child who was whispering for her to let him go. In a few moments the wand simply fell apart like Ash in her hands and it really began to rain. Molly threw back her head and screamed.

Viola had pushed herself too hard. Talon would need to take her to the hospital now, something she had never allowed him to do in the past. She needed blood, and she needed it an hour ago.
Lillian’s grey eyes were filled with a devil’s fury as she watched her perfect man run through the fire with that damned elf.

The wand was out of play, and that’s all Darbok needed. He finally let his gaze drop away from Kandomere and gathered Molly into his arms. “You did good, princess.” He breathed into her hair. “You were a hero.”

Talon hated hospitals. He remembered them from his childhood and they brought back terrible memories. But here he sat in the waiting room, terrified for the doctors to tell him she was gone and it was his fault.

Molly rested her head on his shoulder, her thoughts now on how the wand had come to be. 

Kandomere was seconds from a meltdown. As soon as the church was empty he turned on Celia. "Where are my wands?" He screamed at her. "Where are my wands?!"

Viola had been given the blood she needed, her wounds cleaned and stitched where required. She was finally resting comfortably, now she had been sedated.
“Excuse me, are you with Miss. Vermont?” A middle aged doctor had found Talon in the waiting room.

“Molly, I know a lot has happened, but we need to leave, okay?” Darbok breathed. “It’s not safe here any more.”

For the first time, Celia actually seemed afraid of Kandomere. The dark haired elf was backing away as he advanced on her, knowing he would take her own wand by force now.

"Yes..." He could hear his father's voice. My wife fell. She's so clumsy. We should move to a house without stairs. 
"Is she all right?" He got up, wringing his hands.

Molly said nothing, hating herself for the murder of her child. It was her fault.
 Maybe it wasn't Viola that brought death after all; maybe it was her. "Home." She breathed in his ear. "I want to go home..."

Kandomere would give Celia reason to be afraid. He would make her daughter's torture look like child's play.

The doctor offered Talon a reassuring smile. “You get her here just in time. She’s resting now, but we had to sedate her, she was screaming that ‘she’ will find her here.” He replied, then seemed to notice the suit Talon was wearing. “I assure you, she is quite safe here if you have somewhere you need to get back to?”

Darbok didn’t really say much as he drove Molly home. What could he say? She had had to suffer the death of her child all over again, in a manner of speaking. 

Celia wouldn’t fight it either; she loved him. Let him do what he liked to her, if it made him happy. It would seem Celia was far more the victim than her daughter had ever been.

"No. I was...I came for her... I'm not going anywhere." Talon told the man. "Can I go see her?"

Molly didn't say much when they got back to the stronghold, glad that Darbok was overtaken with demands for his attention. She went to her own room and hid herself in the closet. It seemed the safest spot.

The doctor nodded and laid a gentle hand on Talon’s broad shoulder. “That is the best medicine for her right now, for you to be right there when she wakes up.” He told the younger man with another warm smile.

Darbok was doing everything he could to speed along their plans. What had happened at the church had set the entire clan into a blind panic, starting the whispers that the dark lord was back to power.

Talon almost ran to the room to get to her. His hands were shaking. Then he sat to wait. He was full of energy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so alive or so hopeful. On the way to the room he dumped the suit jacket and the cumberbund.

Molly found the meeting room where she heard the Fogteeth orcs shouting in fear and anger. She pushed open the door and simply walked in, slamming down Celia's wand on the table. "The dark lord may be back but the prophecy states he needs three wands to gain power and one of them made from an orc. He has one and it's not an orc and not this one either. Stop your bitching and trust your boss. He's calm so why the hell aren't you?!" She shouted. The room was instantly silent though she wasn't sure if it was because she'd come in, brought a wand, or gotten loud.

It was several hours later when Viola’s dull blue eyes opened. Everything hurt, but that filled her with relief. Everything hurt... but none of it was fresh, or raw. It was an ache that was clearly being dulled by drugs. The previous night came flooding back to her, and then her gaze settle on the man beside her bed. It was a face she had thought of so often, but believed she would never see again.

Darbok hadn’t said anything either as Molly basically told the entire clan off like naughty children. He was smiling, remembering how she had told him the clan wouldn’t accept her as his partner. How wrong she was, she had just proven otherwise. 
“There you have it, boys. No rise of power, no orc wand. Keep your bones intact, and we don’t have a problem right this very second.”

Talon was on his phone, texting with an orc who was in the meeting. He had yet to hear Viola stir. He smiling as he looked down, amused with Darboks response. 

The room erupted into grunts of approval and clapping and Molly turned to look at Darbok, surprised by their response.

Viola simply watched him. She saw the boyish grin as he looked down at his phone, the crinkle to his eyes as he laughed, at what she assumed was a reply to a message as she heard the tiny ‘ping’ sound his Phone made. It was a simply pleasure to watch a face she had only seen in her dreams for a year now. “Should I be jealous of whoever make you that happy?” She finally asked.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re actually surprised they like you?” Darbok asked with an amused snort as he pulled her into his lap. “I told you the only problem was you, princess.” He added with a grin.

Talons eyes softened considerably as he lifted them to Volias face. His smile stayed in place. "Hello, little bit. " He breathed.


"Oh get off your high horse." Molly said, giving him a poke in the side. The orcs filed out, leaving their leader alone with the little blonde, the last of them closing the door behind them.

“You only call me that... when you’re mad at me...” though she had been smiling, Viola’s voice caught in her throat as she said the words. They were a part of the last conversation they had had with each other. 

“Why? I like the view up here.” Darbok smirked, tickling Molly in return.

"we're not going there again are we?" Talon said with a soft laugh. "You were the one who decided that was true, not me."

"You're the worst!" Molly groaned, trying to push his hands away.