Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, Gekko, Double Secret Productions.
They remained at Laurel's enclave for a few more hours after the lady and Mr Zhang had disappeared. This was mostly due to Isis' need to manufacture some form of withdrawal suppressant. No one was at all comforted staying at the fortress for any longer than necessary but Isis explained that despite the questionable results of Laurel's Venom, she had produced it in a fully equipped laboratory that would make the creation of the anti withdrawal drug pass much more swiftly. Even though the explanation given by the former Goddess of All was so beyond their understanding that none could comprehend what exactly it was she was trying to achieve, no one could deny that if anyone could capable of producing this, it would be Isis.
Besides, in truth, after seeing how withdrawal had effected Vin, Chris would prefer another method of freeing both Alex and Mary from the effects of the Venom Laurel had injected into their system. The work continued for some hours, in which time the seven gathered the dead and kept the wounded comfortable for the time being until federal marshals could come take charge of them personally. Julia and the other women had ridden ahead, returning to the town of Forbes in order to make use of the telegraph station in order to bring some assistance.
Several hours later, Isis emerged with her anti-toxin and inoculated herself, Sekhmet and Vin with the solution. While the ribbon device had done much to heal the tracker, Isis possessing Alexandra Styles' determination to see her husband well, wanted to ensure that any residual Venom was capable of harming him as it did when she had found him earlier. Isis explained that it would take time for the drug to completely neutralize the Venom in their bodies, when at which time Isis and Sekhmet would dissolve and Chris and Vin would have their wives back once again.
Once everything was taken care of in Forbes, the entire party left for home and rode back as quickly as possible, despite being hindered in their speedy return by Billy and Mikey. However, both parents were so grateful that the two children were safe that neither they nor any one else felt like complaining. It was nonetheless an odd trip back with Ezra maintaining his distance from both Isis and Sekhmet. Although Julia wanted badly to question him on his intimacies with Isis, she held back knowing that perhaps it was an issue left alone. He had never given her reason to feel betrayed and thus she curbed her desire to know especially when she realised that it was neither Ezra's or Alex's choice for it to have happened in the first place.
Chris found the Mary-Sekhmet amalgamation slightly tolerable after the insane warrior goddess he had encountered on the world of Netjer. The new creature born of that union was to the point, undeniably practical and unfailingly honest. It was to Chris' surprise that most of Sekhmet's characteristics were in some ways traits that Mary possessed only amplified more. If he ever got his Mary back, he wondered how she would have found the comparative likeness between herself and the warrior goddess. However, despite the fact that Sekhmet was mildly engaging, Chris knew for certain that it was his wife he wanted back.
Vin on the other hand found Isis to be something of a mystery. He understood that she was not his Alex but there were aspects of her that was very much Alex and he was kept wondering all throughout the ride to Four Corners, which was his wife and which was the Goddess of All. For reason, the two distinct personalities did not seem as apparent in her as it did with Sekhmet. Vin wondered if when Alex had taken the Venom, had she lessened the dosage somewhat in order to ensure that Isis would never have enough control over her body to be capable of losing sight of what they were meant to accomplish by the action in the first place. It was just the sort of thing that his wife would do to ensure that Isis never regained control of her body because her terror at that eventuality was something he was perfectly aware. Thus, he took some consolation in the fact that his Alex would be back soon enough and until she did, he would simply have to endure this entity that looked so much like her
They returned to Four Corners in the small hours of the dark and the group let out a collected sigh of relief upon reaching the town limits. Capture by Laurel Chase had actually given the seven moments when they believed they would never again see their homes again or the people who were waiting for them so devotedly. They rode in silence into Four Corners, as they had done for most of the journey back from Forbes. Each were thinking contemplatively about the strangeness of their situation and were glad when it was all over.
There was almost a palpable sense of relief when it came time to go their separate ways, hoping that with the coming of the new dawn, their lives would right themselves and everything would be as they were before this entire situation had began. For Chris, he had walked away from this with his life and had learnt a valuable lesson in his future dealings with Laurel. Twice before, he had rushed in to his confrontations with her and twice before he had risked everyone. What had happened to Mary and Alex was only the latest in a line of blunders because he had underestimated her greatly.
He would never do so again.
Chris had no doubt that she would be back. Of that Chris would be certain and wherever she was, the stakes during their next encounter would be high indeed. Mary had hurt her, possibly scarred her permanently. For a woman who had placed much on her looks, that was an injury that could not be forgiven easily and when she returned, he would have to be prepared to protect Mary and his children at all costs.
Even if it meant killing her.
Chris had never thought coming through the front door of his house could feel so good but it did. As he carried Billy in his arms and Sekhmet cradled Mikey in hers, both children were exhausted and in need of a decent bed to rest themselves after the long journey home. Placing both children in their beds and spending a moment watching them, Chris never felt more grateful when he saw both Billy and Mikey in their peaceful and contented sleep, trying to forget the terrible image of seeing them standing next to Laurel Chase. He had never thought he could be so frightened when he saw them in her clutches.
He noticed Sekhmet staring at them and felt a hint of surprise seeing the affection in her eyes for the two children resting comfortably, oblivious to their parent's watchful gaze and hopefully enjoying good dreams as they forget their ordeal. Sekhmet raised her eyes to meet his and suddenly Chris was more struck by the fact that she was indeed Mary, the wife he loved despite the guise of the warrior goddess. Looking at her, she looked more like Mary then ever before and a surge of desire rose up within him because after almost losing her forever, Chris was grateful to have her back again. Perhaps sensing what was in his eyes, Sekhmet said nothing and walked back to their bedroom, beckoning silently for him to follow which he did.
No sooner than the door had closed behind them, trapping husband and wife into their own private world, she devoured his mouth without any warning. Chris felt his breath escape him when Sekhmet's lips crushed his own in a kiss of passion. For a moment, he wanted to push away for this was not really the woman he loved, this was Sekhmet and yet her aggression sparked a surge of arousal in him that was hard to deny. Soon the effects of the Venom would be completely dissolved in her blood and the Mary he knew and loved would return to him and Sekhmet would become just another distant memory. However, there was also a fragment of remembrance during that dark period when Sekhmet was in control that she had promised him a pain and pleasure wrapped in a thousand delights. He had refused then because he could not imagine such a coupling when Mary was trapped somewhere inside her body. However, Mary was not trapped and she was using Sekhmet to satisfy her need to save her son and husband and now some more basic needs as well.
Her kisses grew more intense as he felt her tongue probing past his teeth, desperately seeking his own and hearing the groan of demand when he finally reciprocated and started kissing her back. She had shaken her hair loose from its confining bun, allowing golden hair to tumble over her shoulders as she began nudging him backwards, towards the bed that awaited them with as much anticipation as this fire that was building up inside her loins for the needs to be pleasured. Chris tried to break away; tried to voice his desire that she ought to slow down, that they had the whole night to enjoy each other but Sekhmet was having none of it. She wanted him and she wanted him now.
For his part, the ability to keep from being swept away by this tidal wave of raw passion was becoming increasingly hard for him to resist. Each time he felt her tongue tantalizing his with pleasure, he felt a jolt of sensation that was stiffening his cock. He began to wonder what it would be like when she wrapped those pleasurable lips around it and just the image of her on her knees inflicting that pleasure on him force a slight grunt of need from his lips.
They came to a stop at the side of the bed and could go back no further when she pulled away from his mouth and revealed to him the extent of her hunger. Her lips were wet and glistening and her blue grey eyes traveled across his form like he was something to be feasted upon. Giving him no time to react, her hands went to his shirt buttons and immediately removed them, her fingers trembled as she undid each one and he swore she moaned when his bare chest lay open to her. Chris had lowered his mouth to kiss her but she would not let his lips meet hers. Instead, she started kissing him along the collar bone, letting her lips sensuously laved the length of bone before reaching his chest, where those same lips brushed against the skin pulled tight against rock hard muscles.
She continued to kiss him as she journey down the length of him, causing Chris to close his eyes and enjoy her progress. He felt those silken lips touch his skin ever so sensuously, ensuring that her heated tongue made contact enough times so that could not help but shudder as she neared the elliptical flesh of his nipple. Sekhmet glanced up at him momentarily, her eyes taking on a truly devious glint as she fell down upon the helpless circle of flesh and began suckling it with harsh intensity. Chris opened his mouth and groaned, unaware that he had even done it when he was bombarded by the incredible sensation of her swirling tongue, exploring the rough skin and spiraling upwards until she reached his tip and caught in her teeth. The pain did two things, it made him groan again and also forced his cock into such a state of rigidity, Chris could feel it pressing against his pants and against her.
She was perfectly aware of exactly what he needed as the hands, which had been caressing his back, lowered. He continued to push against the soft pleasure of her body, signaling his desire with that hard ridge of flash digging into her belly. While one hand continuing to make slow circles against his back, the other slipped past the waistband of his trousers and started exploring the cock screaming for release. Her hands molded around it and began stroking so lightly that Chris could only close his eyes and enjoy the sensation as she started to do him with exquisite pleasure.
"I'm going to take you Chris," she whispered as her fingers ceased her stroking long enough to undo the pressure of his jeans. The buttons almost popped on their own accord, each time she gave them leave to do so. "I'm going to take you hard."
Chris wanted to resist. He wanted to be in control but the instant he felt her fingers free his manhood from his confinement and take its meaty weight into her hand, any question of allowing her to have her way dissolved in his mind. He closed his eyes as he felt himself carressed in her soft palm. She began stroking him once more, only this time there was no separation of cloth to keep him centered but skin against skin, silk against velvet and the friction that came about sent him wild with desire as she pumped him in her hand.
"God woman yeah." He said hoarsely. "Do me." Chris felt himself pushing into her hand, his hips following her heavenly strokes so that he could get the maximum appreciation of her skillful handling.
Sekhmet's response was to renew her assault on his nipple, starting to nibble it in order to bombard him with the contrasting sensation of pleasure and pain. The harder he started to pump into her hand indicated that he was responding very well to it. He was almost incoherent now and completely helpless to her ministrations. He stood at the edge of the bed, ready to fall into it should she desire. His trousers around his knees and his shirt discarded from that magnificent body, he was a sight that sent heat through her own body and the urge to possess this man was so powerful that she could feel another gush of moisture between her legs.
Chris could not believe that he was being reduced to quivering jelly as he felt himself loose control of his body as never before her. He knew that he was starting to lose control because the coalescing knot of pleasure that was coming from all the points she was stoking into ecstasy would force him to do so in its convergence. She pumped his cock with such expertise that he could hardly breath each time her palm reached the sensitive head which was wet with orgasmic pre-eminence and making smoothening the way for her hand to bring him even further along. He could only react by running his fingers through her hair, intertwining his digits around that golden mane each time she brought him to another plateau of pleasure. He was flying so high, he thought he might soon reach heaven itself.
Sekhmet suddenly nudged him down onto the bed and Chris had no choice to drop into the soft mattress. She landed on him gently, her mouth taking charge of his again, even though her hand had not stopped what it was doing, much to Chris' appreciation. He immediately wrapped his hand around her back, pulling at her own shirt, determined to feel alabaster skin under his palm. In a second or so, she had been divested of her apparel and she lay on top of him bare. She kissed him again as his hands ran up and down her smooth back, marveling at the luxurious feel of a her skin and taking a deep breath of her musk in his lungs. Her scent was thick and demanding. It filled his head and made his erection strain even more for the slick space between her legs.
Mary moved into a straddling position, ensuring both her thighs were placed firmly around his slender waist. She met his gaze with a smile and released his throbbing cock. Her hands cupped her breasts and she uttered a soft moan as she kneaded them gently. She began biting her own lip as she did that and the entire scene was so damned erotic, he could only react by sliding his fingers into the wet mass of curls and thrusting his finger deep inside her. Chris' fingers found her heated center easily enough and upon locating it, began teasing it into ecstasy. He watched her hands knead her breasts faster and faster as he continued pleasuring her, until she was riding her hand with that delightful expression on her face.
Chris did not know if he had ever seen a woman look so perfect.
He watched mesmerized as she rolled her tight nipples in between her fingers as he continued to push a finger up her inner passages. Each time he pressed a digit against the hard, slick walls, he was rewarded by a load groan of pleasure that all about made him come undone upon hearing the sound. Sekhmet's hips were the ones moving uncontrollably now and he enjoyed the momentary return of control, determined at least before this encounter was over to bring her to orgasm. Her skin was glistening in sweat and her nipples between her fingers were erect and red. Watching her pleasure herself along side of him was the most incredible thing he had ever seen and he wished he could frame the moment.
Suddenly, the walls of her insides contracted around his fingers as her face contorted into a tight knot of pleasure. Her back arched as it came upon her and her hands grabbed her hair, holding on so that she could brace herself for the unearthly force of sensation that was going to overtake her in a minute. Her eyes met his, a thousand emotions surfaced as she felt herself loose control of herself and Chris thought she had never looked so incredible and started to ache with need because he wanted to fuck her so badly. A gush of heat washed over his enveloped fingers when she finally tumbled over the edge of control.
"Oh yes!!!" She cried. "Oh Chris!"
His name tumbled from her lips in a litany of words that did nothing to hide her intense orgasm. He watched her body shudder, watch the perspiration glistening off white skin and watched the flushed expression on her cheeks as she started to come down. Chris started to grin, his hands withdrawing from the well of warm honey to grab her hips and take care of his own desires when suddenly, her eyes opened and stared directly at him. A smile curled the edge of her lips as she placed her hands over his own and tore her away from her waist. Chris was about to respond in question when Sekhmet forced his arms to his sides and pinned his wrist in place with her own.
"What are you doing?" He asked breathlessly because when he tried to move, she added more pressure to keep him still. Though he could easily break free if he wanted, this feeling of helplessness had its own attraction and he swallowed as he saw the hungered look in her eyes.
"I told you," she said with a smile. "I am going to take you."
Once she was certain that he would not move, Sekhmet grabbed his thickened length and began stroking it furiously, giving him no avenue for retreat as he was awash with brutal pleasure. She pumped him hard and lowered her mouth to his nipple, which she immediately started to bite with each hard stroke of her hand. Tongue and palm began to effect a devastating rhythm on him until Chris was pushed so far over the edge of pleasure that he could think of nothing else but what she was doing to him. His body began to quiver and his head dug back into the pillow. His back arched again, struggling to keep up with her devastating rhythm but finding he could not.
"Mary..." Chris began to plead, not liking to do it but unable to bear this any more. "Please..."
"Please what?" She asked sternly.
His blue eyes flew open and saw that she was waiting for him to say it. His pause only made her up the stakes and Sekhmet's strokes became more torturous as she milked his cock for every ounce of self-control he had left and there was not much, he knew for certain.
"Say it," she whispered.
"I'll get you for this." He groaned, his eyes crushed close again because she was not playing fair as she released his hand and lowered her head once more. "Oh Christ!" He cried out as he was suddenly feeling her lowered head sucking his nipple hard, while one hand teased the other nipple and the other pumped his manhood with such unrelenting rhythm that he knew he could not stand it any more. He did not care, he would say anything just to have her end this torture even though part of him did not want it to stop.
"Fuck me!" He gasped, broken into a thousand pieces. "Fuck me please!"
Sekhmet smiled and released his rock hard member, silently grateful that he had relented for she could not bear the delay any much longer herself. If only he could see what she had seen, Chris would have realised how difficult it was for her to maintain her resolve to hear him beg. Without any further delay and aroused beyond belief as she saw his mouth opened in a silent scream of pleasure when she did what he wanted, when Sekhmet impaled herself on Chris' full length.
He was going to die.
That was all the thought Chris could manage when he felt her tight, warm sheath slid around his tortured manhood. Pleasure took on a physical substance, like light did when a rainbow appeared after summer drizzle. He could feel it exploding around him as she started to ride him. Her thighs pulling around his waist each time she pushed down on him. Chris could not breathe and yet his lungs were forced to work, each time he felt their connection deepened, harder and harder into her inner most self. Her face mirrored his pleasure as her hands dropped to his and kept his wrists pinned to the sheets.
Her mouth lowered and she took his nipple again, sucking harder and more insistently as they moved in tandem, push for thrust. Chris was tossing his head from side to side, his body covered in sweat and his lips moving incoherently as he begged her not to stop. He wanted to touch her but the arousal that came from not being able to do so was even more intense than he could imagine. Each time he felt her slam down on him, he could only react by thrusting upward in equal and opposing reaction. They began to pound against each other so hard that Chris could feel the hard wall of muscle that existed at the end of that moist passage.
"Oh my love!" She groaned out loud as they both began inching towards completion. She took his mouth in hers again and continued to move, releasing her hold of his hands only to find them wrapping immediately around her back as soon as they were freed.
Now they were both out of control and reaching apogee and when the final conflagration of passion exploded and Chris felt his entire world splinter into a million tasty pieces of ecstatic sensations, he felt her shatter with him. She shuddered against him, allowing Chris to enjoy every ripple of pleasure that move through her as he too went through the same ordeal, his entire being quivering as he came hard, filling her with his seed. Chris had never though that there could be anything more beautiful than seeing her eyes during that moment of realization that she would always be his.
Chris lost all sense of time at how long they had remained there on the bed in silence, a tangle of sweaty arms and legs, of harsh breathing and simmering emotions in the aftermath of their extraordinary passion. They had slid into a more comfortable position on the bed, with Sekhmet lying against the crook of his shoulder, allowing herself to be held in his arms the way Mary liked him too. He could not tell how much time had passed before he found himself asking question that bothered him a little in light of what had just transpired between.
"How much of that was my wife?" Chris found himself asking.
Sekhmet looked up and propped her head on one arm before answering. She could not refuse him a response because it was a valid question. "A great deal of it."
"She's not usually..." He tried to use the right word to describe their love making but could not find it
"So aggressive?" Sekhmet let a small smile steal across her features as she drummed her fingers softly on his chest.
"I guess." Chris replied slightly embarrassed, feeling slightly hypocritical because he had thought her as his wife when he had been making love to her and now he saw her as Sekhmet again even though she wore Mary's face.
"Your wife is a product of her times." Sekhmet answered truthfully. "She loves you dearly, she desires you just as much but the strange customs of this land require a woman to allows give into a man. Is that not so?"
Chris had never heard it put that way but in retrospect, he supposed it was the truth. Women did not vote unless they were landowners and yet men could vote with nothing more than the shirt on his back to his name. Why was that fair? He had seen such passion in Mary once, when they had returned from Denver in the heated encounter that had followed after. Of course, once again he had taken control and the moment was lost, now he was not so certain he wanted her to let him take the initiative.
"I guess. So were you acting out for her?"
"We both wanted you and but I sensed some desires in her and I followed them to their natural course." She answered truthfully and nestled closer. It surprised her when he pulled her tighter against him.
"How much of you will be left when the Venom antidote kicks in?" Chris ventured to ask even though he had been reluctant to do so. He had reservations about Sekhmet. He supposed after seeing the killer she had been once, one could expect nothing else but he was grateful for the creature whose emergence had kept his wife from dying and had been responsible for the seven escaping Laurel's hands and the retrieval of his two boys.
"I will not exist." Sekhmet remarked turning away and staring at the ceiling. "I will be a voyeur inside her mind but I will have little influence."
Chris swallowed hard, not certain whether he should be happy or not. There was something about Mary being able to protect herself so formidably that Chris found rather appealing. However, he could not have everything and had to be satisfied by what was must be. "I'm sorry."
"No," Sekhmet surprised herself by realizing she was not upset. "I am dead Chris Larabee. All that was Sekhmet is gone. The memories remain and if your Mary chooses to use my influence, I will be gratified but it matters little to me. I cannot exist in this place, even if I could survive. Much of me have changed, Mary has seen to that and I want to see those children grow and I want to see Mary happy because I will feel her happiness. It was not for entirely altruistic reasons that Isis and I saved your lives. Without you, our hosts could not survive and by extension neither can we."
Chris wanted to ask her more but Sekhmet was not prepared to answer, instead rolling over so he could only stare at her back. A few minutes later, he heard her breathing softly, indicating her sound slumber and decided against waking her up. Conflicting thoughts plagued him for the rest of the night until he too fell asleep.
"Chris!"
Chris woke up the next morning only to find himself on the receiving end of a fierce hug. It took a moment for the sleepiness to be shaken from him before he realised that it was Mary who had given him such a warm greeting. As he felt her gentle kisses on his lips and cheek flurrying across his skin in spite of his momentary confusion, he realised what had happened and the fog over his mind evaporated instantly.
"Mary?" He asked, almost afraid to speak.
She pulled away from him and nodded wildly, tears in her eyes as she woke up from her long sleep. The last few days had been a dream she could not awake from even though she had some measure of control over it. The tendrils in her mind, left over from the presence of the other, still felt palpable and she felt a shudder of fear, recalling how she had not been herself for the past few days.
"Yes," she nodded breathlessly. "Its me."
Chris took her face in his hands and kissed out of sheer gratitude, hanging so tightly to her that he was completely prepared to never let her go again. When he finally let her go, after an eternity of seconds had tumbled by, he looked at her and asked his questions regarding her state of health and the effects if any of Sekhmet's presence in her body.
"Are you alright? Do you remember anything?" He asked slowly, not wishing to push the point if she did not.
"A little." She said thinking hard, her brow furrowing over her eyes. "Mostly images and feelings. I think a lot of what she felt came from me." She paused a moment trying to describe her feelings during that strange period. "I know that we're safe because of her. I just never thought I'd be grateful for having that thing inside of me."
Chris did not know how to respond to that, so he decided not to Instead, he wrapped his arms around his wife and thanked god that he got her back once more.
Even though inwardly, Chris knew he'd miss Sekhmet just a little bit.
When Ezra Standish stepped out of his lodgings the next day, the gambler could not help being happy to feel the sun and heat on his face. After everything that had transpired the past few days, especially being trapped in a stygian dungeon of Laurel's choosing, he was more than happy to see the sun again. The gambler walked up the boardwalk, feeling a little sentimental for enjoying the simple pleasure of walking along the streets of Four Corners again. It was a busy Saturday morning and its inhabitants were out in force, going about their business and glancing at him with a nod of their hats and a little smile. Ezra still remembered the days when those looks were ones of disapproval and suspicion.
Strange, how he never considered that he could become attached to Four Corners. When he had first ridden into town, he had been on the run from one thing or another. He had never imagined anything like this would happen when Chris Larabee had offered him that job for a five dollars a week, defending a small village from a bunch of ghosts. Of course, he had been different in those days so he did not recognise the crossroads he had reached in his life until he was well past it.
Ezra headed towards the Standish Tavern, wishing a morning repast after the ride of the day before. He wondered how the others had fared and hoped that Mary and Alex were back to normal. He supposed he would find out soon enough when he saw the rest of the seven. For his part, he would like to spend the day with Julia, feeling somewhat grateful to be alive after all that had transpired these past few days.
"You must be Ezra Standish." A decidedly feminine voice greeted as he prepared to cross the street.
She had stepped onto the boardwalk from inside the hotel and greeted him with a little smile. Ezra wondered who she was because Four Corners was not the kind of place where a lady of her beauty (and she was incredibly beautiful) could simply arrive unnoticed. Judging by her clothes and the parasol she held over her shoulder to shield her from the harsh New Mexico sun, she was obviously a woman of refined tastes, even though she looked terribly exotic.
"I do not believe I have had the pleasure," Ezra said in typical southern charm, raising his hat slightly off his head as he greeted her, gold tooth glinting and flashing her his most endearing smile.
"I am Diana Belladonna," she introduced herself, extending a gloved hand in his direction. "I am the new singer at the hotel."
"So you are the chanteuse whose services that our German entrepreneur was boasting so ardently about acquiring?" He remarked as he studied her a little closer and realised that as a singer, she must be in demand for her clothes were not at all store bought but rather hand made.
"I'm afraid so." She smiled at him. "And you are one of the seven men hired to keep this town safe."
"On occasion," Ezra answered. "I am also a businessman."
"Yes, that charming little place called the Standish Tavern." She nodded, with no hint of derision in her voice.
"It is a start." He answered, unashamed of that little piece of property he was pleased to call his own. Thanks to Inez's management and some ruthless card playing, he had already earned the money that Julia had used to purchase the place for him and paid her back in full. Although she had denied the amount, Ezra could not in good conscience call the place his own other wise. He loved Julia and while she being wealthy was something of a boon, he had not desire to make her believe that was the only reason he loved her.
"A start is always a good launching point for bigger things Mr Standish," Diana smiled and then gave him a look of pure invitation. "Do you think you might escort me to the Emporium. I believe you know where it is?"
Ezra was certainly she knew perfectly well that he did but chose to play her game for a little more, wondering what she had in mind. As he offered his arm and watched her link her own around it, Ezra decided he did not mind a little game.
Besides, who was it hurting?
Pain.
It was a new sensation and it burned into her mind, leaving an indelible impression she would never forget. She had no sense of where she was, knowing only that she was not dead and it was Zhang who saw to it that she was safe. She did not know how long she remained where she was, drifting in and out of consciousness, hearing tender voices ensuring that she would be healed soon enough and opening her blood swelled eyes to see Zhang sitting reassuringly by her bed, protecting her as always.
Seeing him there told her that she could rest for now. Thoughts of revenge would sustain her while she healed and when she awoke, when these bandages covering her face were removed and she was herself again, then she would think of how she would deal with Chris Larabee and his wife.
And how she would kill them both.
"Are you sure about this?" Alex asked as she looked around her to see if anyone was about.
The boys were mostly in town today, which gave Alex and Mary the privacy they required. They had claimed that they needed some time to talk about what had happened to them whilst under the influence of the Venom and both Vin and Chris were understanding enough to allow them that solitude. Both women had struggled to come to terms with what they had done as Isis and Sekhmet respectively, consoling themselves with the fact that it was done for the best of intentions for not only were the seven safe but Mikey and Billy as well.
It was hard for either of the women to fathom the things they had done to reach that end, even when Julia, Inez and Casey had told them about it. It seemed so unreal and far away, like an image one had in a dream that had no real truth but still left emotional consequences in their hearts. However, they soon learned that other aspects of their possession by Isis and Sekhmet still remained and today, they were here to find out just how strong the presence of two actually were now that Mary and Alex were back in control of themselves.
"We need to know." Mary looked at her.
They both were standing inside one of the vacant barns at the Lucky 7 Ranch, clad in the same clothes they had used when they had gone to Forbes in search of the men and Mary's children. Alex's eyes revealed her reservation and Mary could understand it for she remembered Isis' possession of her much clearly than Mary did and whatever Isis may have atoned for during the past few days, could not removed the mark her crimes had left upon the doctor.
Alex nodded nervously and bent down to pick up the two wooden staff they had brought for the purpose. In truth, they were nothing more than sturdy lengths of wood, but they would do for what Alex and Mary needed them for. She wrapped her fingers around one length of wood and watched as Mary did the same with the other. Both women allowed themselves to become accustomed to the weight of the makeshift weapons in their hands for a few seconds before bringing the staffs to bear.
Mary struck first, swinging the weapon in a short, controlled arch, uncertain of where the instinct or the knowledge came from, aware only that it did and unlike before, she had access to it. Alex in turn blocked the move easily and for the next few seconds, they were both like dancers in a strange ballet with sticks moving so fast that their movements were almost considered art. It was a contest of trust and parry, of strike and counterstrike, of block and attack. They fought like they had done so all their lives, that this violent and yet artistic display was natural to them. In some ways, it was like a door had opened inside of them and could never again be closed. Neither Mary and Alex had come to the conclusion that this was a bad thing.
After a few seconds, when they had fought each other to a standstill, the two women faced each other again, panting hard as their hearts pounded breathlessly inside their chest. Lowering their weapons for a moment, Alex looked at Mary.
"This still scares me." Alex confessed. "I don't know whether I want it."
"You can't get rid of it." Mary replied. "Tell you the truth, Sekhmet scares me to death but I saw what I could when my boys were in danger, what I was able to do when Chris was caught by that woman." Mary paused a moment, trying to gather her thoughts and articulate what she had felt the moment she realised that some part of Sekhmet had remained inside of her this time, that the warrior goddess had left her something behind that could be considered a gift or a curse. Mary preferred the more positive approach.
"Alex," Mary met her gaze again. "I know you are afraid and I am too but I won't bury my head in the sand and deny that I can do this. This was left with me for a reason and I have to acknowledge it to myself even if I don't to anyone else. We've gone through our entire lives thinking that men were meant to protect us. I don't want Chris to be forever looking behind his shoulder at me, wondering if he has to keep me or my children safe. I don't think you want that either."
Alex closed her eyes, uncertain at how she should answer because Mary's words were far more accurate than she knew. Alex was afraid but she had to admit, Mary was also right. She did not want Vin to place himself in danger, not when she could protect herself.
"Alright," Alex nodded, feeling her agreement like a great weight being lifted off her chest. At least the indecision would end. "I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable about this but I won't ignore it. However, what about Chris and Vin? Do we tell them?"
Mary considered it a moment and responded with another strike at Alex who blocked it easily with her own staff weapon.
Mary started to smile as they began trading blows once again and when they broke away long enough to catch a breath, Mary looked at Alex and smiled. Alex understood immediately and joined her mischievous grin as they shook their heads and spoke in unison. "Nah..."
THE END