Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Release	By : KaticaLocke Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 3499 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 45
- 46
- 47
The scream echoed in her ears long after she'd run out of breath. No, it was other screams, Olivia's voice, Novak's, Edward's. She clutched at Bobby's shirt as the fire danced around them, licking at her face. The stench of burnt hair filled her nostrils and she buried her face in his neck, breathing in the strong, safe scent of her partner. As scared as she was, with the roar of the flames and the screams of her friends in her ears, there was a tiny core of peace in her chest, like a small star, glowing with a light as different from the killing fire as night is from day. This was a light to heal, to protect, not to hurt, not to destroy. She let it fill her, felt it spill over into Bobby, fill him, and spread outward, refusing to be confined any longer.

She was dying - that was only explanation, but instead of her moving into the light, the light began to fade, the fire guttering and winking out like a candle snuffed by the wind. For a moment, she thought she'd been struck blind as the night fell about her like a velvet curtain, the silence impossibly loud in her ears. Every breath hurt, rattling in her chest and making her want to cough.

Okay, maybe she wasn't dead, but she should have been, would have been, if not for ...

"Bobby?" her voice was dry, brittle, barely more than a whisper. Her fingers were still clutching his shirt and she gave him a shake. He groaned, slowly raising up on his elbows and taking most of the weight off her chest. Breathing suddenly became a lot easier.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his breath soft on her cheek. She blinked and turned her face toward him, ghostly after-images swimming across her vision as she tried to focus.

"I - I think so," she replied. Her face stung, the skin hot and tight when she spoke, like a really bad sunburn. "Are you?" He nodded and she caught the movement through the fading greenish-silver glow. He reached up and brushed her hair back from her face.

"Your hair is burnt ... crumbly, right here." She tried not to smile; it hurt, but she let the relief show in her voice.

"All things considered, I'm not that upset. I've been needing to get it cut." They just stared at each other a moment, silent, yet communicating volumes just with their eyes. She raised her head off the ground, intent upon gracing his shyly smiling mouth with a kiss, but he drew back a fraction, his eyes widening ever so slightly, and she shifted her gaze past him to the circle of silent spectators gathered around. Deakins was wearing a worried frown. "You think we could get a hand here?" Alex asked, her raspy voice cracking as she raised it to be heard. Half a dozen of them jumped forward, pulling them to their feet and talking at once.

"It was horrible ... how ever did you ... the fire was all around ... you were burning, I swear ... there was this light; you glowed ... then the fire just went out ..."

"Okay, okay, okay," Alex shouted, or tried to, her voice creaking like a rusty hinge. She searched through the faces until she found Munch. "What the hell just happened?" she demanded.

"Raum tried to kill you."

"I thought he couldn't do that without touching me. That's what you said."

"Fine, if you want to split hairs, he tried to set you on fire. That he can do from a distance." There was a stunned silence.

"Then what are we still doing on this roof?" Edward asked, taking a step toward the door. Novak and Logan glanced at the sky, the ADA following Edward's lead.

"I told you it would be dangerous," Munch reminded them. "However, it's unlikely that Raum will attack again, not like that. He failed, and wasted a great deal of energy in the process. He'll need time to recover and come up with a different plan."

"So why didn't it work?" They all turned to look at Bishop, standing near the edge of the circle, the athame in her hands. "Why aren't they dead?" Attention returned to Munch.

"Why do you always look to me for the answer?" he asked, scowling in irritation.

"Maybe 'cause you're the only one of us with a Hogwarts diploma?" Fin suggested. "Now answer the lady's question; Why ain't these two barbecue?"

"I thought it would be obvious - Alex has the makings of a very powerful witch. Something triggered her innate power and it repelled the dark magick."

"But what triggered it?" Bishop pressed, her gray-green eyes catching the faint street light as she fixed her stare on Alex. Alex stared back, unease rolling in the pit of her stomach.

"That little bitch," she murmured. "She knows." Bobby leaned closer and she said it again for his benefit. "She knows about us."

"It could be any number of reasons," Munch was saying. "Probably fear. Self preservation is -" The night flared like a flash grenade had gone off. Alex jerked away, raising her hand to protect her eyes. Bobby wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest. Someone screamed. Alex brought her head back around, squinting at the white-hot inferno blazing away on the far side of the roof, near the circle. What was burning?

"Oh, my God," she heard Bobby whisper. "Bishop."

"Somebody call for a bus!" Elliot shouted, removing his jacket as he surged forward, but the heat was too intense to get close enough to try and smother the flames. He staggered back, the outside of his forearm blistered. Alex watched in horror as Bishop just stood there and burned. Why - How - was she still standing? Was that part of Raum's evil magick, to force you to stand and burn? She shuddered.

Suddenly, the conflagration imploded, folding in on itself and plunging the rooftop back into blackness. Alex blinked furiously, momentarily blinded as those gray-green ghosts flitted across her vision. While her eyes adjusted, she waited apprehensively for Bishop's smoldering remains to come into focus. She knew what to expect, knew she didn't want to see it, but couldn't look away.

"What is that?" she heard Olivia ask. Squinting, Alex could barely make out a small, gray pile of something lying on the graveled rooftop. Was that all that was left? Several of them, herself and Bobby included, took a step closer. It looked like laundry; a gray jacket, dark green blouse, she could even see a shoe. So what, it burned everything but her clothes? Alex jumped as the pile twitched, then heaved, and a large gray and black bird jumped free.

"It's a bird," Logan said, sounding dumbfounded. "The son of a bitch turned her into a bird!"

"Least she's not dead," Fin said quietly. "You can turn her back, can't you John?"

"That's - No, that's beyond my power." He sounded stunned. "I didn't think it was possible to force a shape-change on someone."

"That's a crow," Bobby pointed out, "a hooded crow - see the black hood, wings and tail. Hoodies are native to Europe."

"Raum sounded European," Alex put in.

"The demon Raum also manifests in the form of a crow," Bobby said.

"Which means, that may not be Bishop." All eyes turned to the large, dirty gray and black bird. Alex reached for her weapon. The bird gave a croaky 'krraa', hopped forward, spread it's wings and took off. Alex pulled her gun, but couldn't get a clean shot. Too many buildings rose up around them.

"It's getting away," Elliot growled, but there was nothing they could do but watch it wing silently into the pre-dawn sky. The crow suddenly folded it's wings and dove, falling like a rock as it dropped below the edge of the roof. A harsh 'krraak' echoed from the nearest buildings and two dark shapes beat back up into the air, one right on the tail of the other.

"There's two of them," Deakins said. "The hooded one is chasing ... what is that, a raven?" The new bird was all black and slightly larger than the hooded crow.

"Most people see a - a black feather and think raven," Bobby said, his eyes tracking the two birds through the pewter gray sky. "It's a crow. Europe. Carrion crow. Raum." As the pieces clicked into place, Alex looked to the gray and black hoodie.

"It is Bishop." The carrion crow cawed again as the hoodie, Bishop, made a turn a little tighter than expected and pecked a beakful of feathers out of the middle of its back. Raum flipped over in mid-air and lashed out at Bishop with his claws. They locked feet and began to spiral toward the ground. The two crows crashed into the rooftop, rolling about in a ball of kicking claws, stabbing beaks and beating wings. Feathers flew in every direction, their raspy voices filling the night as they screamed and fought.

�Elliot,� Munch said, �throw your jacket over them. Don�t let Raum get away.� Elliot ran forward, but the black crow pulled free of Bishop�s grasp and flapped heavily into the sky, disappearing between two large buildings. �Damnit!� Alex pushed through the crowd and hurried to the Bishop crow�s side. She lay on her back, her wings lying limp at her sides, chest heaving and gray breast feathers dark with blood. Her sharp, black eyes glittered as Alex knelt in the gravel.

�Is there anything we can do?� Olivia asked, coming up behind Elliot. �Can you fix her, John?�

�I�m not a vet,� he said, a frown creasing his face, �but I think so.� Elliot reached down to pick her up, but she flipped over, one wing still dragging, and pecked at his hand.

�Easy Bishop, I�m only trying to help,� Elliot said. She cocked her head to one side, regarding each of them in turn, then took a small hop toward Olivia. �I think she wants you, Liv.� Olivia started to squat down, but froze as the crow disappeared and was replaced by a very naked, bloody young woman. Bishop staggered and fell into Olivia�s startled arms. Quickly, Elliot threw his jacket over her. Olivia tried to get a better grip, but Bishop�s dead weight began to slip through her arms. She frowned at Munch.

�What the hell is going on?� she asked, struggling to keep the young woman off the rough surface of the roof. Alex knew from experience that there was nothing more difficult to carry than an unresponsive adult human, unless you did it one of two ways, in your arms or over your shoulder. Olivia probably could have done either, given proper warning, but to have a body just fall into your hands, no way. Alex started to step forward and lend a hand, but Bobby slipped past her first. Scooping Bishop up in his arms, he cradled her to his chest like a child. It wasn�t hard for Alex to imagine herself in Bishop�s place, safe against that broad chest, his heart beating against her cheek, and she felt a swift pang of jealousy. It only took a moment to remember why Bishop was in that position, and that chased most the jealousy away. Most of it.

�So, can you fix her, Mr. Wizard?� Logan asked, stepping up and lifting a lock of matted hair out of the blood on Bishop�s face. Alex raised an eyebrow, but kept her mouth shut. Munch scanned the visible injuries, then reached up and took hold of Elliot�s jacket.

�Sorry, but I need to see what I�m dealing with,� he said to no one in particular. He removed the covering, revealing small puncture wounds and long, angry scratches, all seeping blood. �Looks superficial, except for the arm, maybe. Wasn�t she favoring one wing?�

�I tore something in the right shoulder,� Bishop said, her voice still rough, croaky, like a crow�s. She rolled her head away from Bobby�s chest and slowly opened her eyes. Logan drew back. Her eyes were that sharp, glittery black of a bird. She glanced at Elliot. "You didn't need to ruin your jacket, Detective Stabler," she said. "I don't mind being naked."

"Of course you don't," Elliot said, trying to keep his wandering eyes on her face. Logan wasn't even trying.

"I've danced naked in the moonlight since I was old enough to walk; modesty is more of a social convention than a personal choice."

"You dance on the Sabbats?" Munch asked. She cocked her head to one side.

"Don't you?"

"So you are a witch," Alex said, frowning as those black, bird-like eyes turned on her.

"I already told you, not even close." Not in a mood to play games, Alex turned to Munch.

"Do you think you could get on with this?" she said, an edge of irritation in her voice. "I'm sure Bobby is getting tired of holding her." She certainly was tired of him holding her. Bobby just shrugged.

"It's not like she's ... heavy," he said. Alex shot him a dark look. He raised his eyebrows. Okay, maybe she was being jealous and snarky, but he was holding a naked young woman in his arms, for crying out loud! She had a bit of a reason, even if it was just Bishop.

"I'm not sure I can do anything," Munch said. "Whatever she is, Raum's magick had no effect on her; mine may not either."

"I think you're overlooking one minor detail," Bishop said, a hint of a smirk on her lips. "I didn't want to be set on fire."

"Well, if you're that powerful, why don't you heal yourself?" Alex asked, her tone drawing curious looks from Dr. Huang and Deakins. Let 'em look, she decided, she was exhausted, dirty, bruised, burned and nearly gagging on the taste of spent adrenaline. She'd earned the right to be a little pissy.

"Healing isn't part of what I am," Bishop said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back on Bobby's arm. "I'm an Inin de an Morrigu." Alex glanced at Munch, but he just shrugged.

"What is that?"

"It's Irish Gaelic," Bobby said. "It means, Daughter of the Morrigan."
- 45
- 46
- 47
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Release