Byzantium

Stage 12

On the other side of the gun that had caused such stillness stood Sam, visibly shaken by his own actions. His arm fell to his side and the gun slipped out of his fingers. "I've never used that before," he said to no one. He blinked and ignored the hot weapon by his feet.

Elise sprinted closer, dropped to her knees beside Ivy, and wasted no time engulfing Ivy in a crushing hug. "You're okay!" She breathed in Ivy's scent, saddened that Ivy's blood tainted such a beautiful aroma. "You're okay," she said again, quieter. "You're okay... you're okay..."

Ivy hugged back, just as fiercely. She could feel Elise's tears spilling onto her neck but she didn't mention it. "I'm okay," she said, choked up by Elise's raw emotion. Elise had never displayed anything like it.

"I'm so sorry," Elise said, pulling back. She sniffled and forced herself to be solid. "I'm so, so sorry. I thought I had knocked out the first guy, but I didn't. Oh, god. I'm so sorry." Her thumb brushed against one of Ivy's many cuts, and Ivy hissed in pain. "Please, please forgive me."

Ivy was just glad that she was alive. "I forgive you. I forgive you." She didn't blame Elise in the slightest. She had expected some kind of attack and she was safe, just as Elise had promised. And now she was being worried over by someone she cared for. That was all she needed.

Elise brought Ivy back to her chest and left her there. She looked up at Sam, who was still frozen in place, his eyes focused on the man he had shot. "Sam? Sam. Thank you. Thank you so much. I owe you one. I owe you a thousand!"

Sam nodded absentmindedly. Then murmurs started and lights in other houses began to turn on. Neighbors emerged from their houses and curious faces were looking out of windows. Elise stood, bringing Ivy with her, and wondered how she'd explain the situation to her neighbors.

A siren sounded somewhere far off and Elise knew she wouldn't just have to explain the situation to neighbors, but to the police as well.

-----

Both Ivy and Elise were sitting in the back of an ambulance, simultaneously being treated and answering questions from policemen. There was nothing wrong with Elise besides the scratches on her arms that she hadn't noticed were given to her by the man she had strangled, but she wanted to remain at Ivy's side. Ivy's cuts were being treated by a very nice warlock EMT who was putting healing cream gently on her face. Elise knew from experience that Ivy would be fine in about half an hour and she would have no scars. The miracles of modern medicine laced with magic as a boost.

Elise answered her last question from the policeman who was questioning her, then she was approached by a representative from the bureau. Since the man who was murdered was a Pre, the bureau had to make sure the kill was justified. Which, of course, it was, and the representative said as much. But he needed statements written down for the paperwork. Elise repeated the story to the bureau representative, and when she was done, he moved on to Ivy and Sam. Their stories correlated with Elise's so the representative declared the kill was justified.

That was what Elise liked best about the bureau. Since they were Pre's, they had powers and skills that could solve a case then and there at the crime scene, most of the time at least. Luckily, in Elise's case, the mystery was simple to solve. Burglary gone wrong, neighbor helped, and the situation ended in the death of one of the burglars. There was the small matter of the burglar dragging Ivy outside so the bureau representative bumped up his paperwork to burglary and attempted kidnapping. He bid Elise, Ivy, and Sam a good day and promised to call Elise's Host company so that she wouldn't get tried and stripped of her licence. She thanked him for it and guessed she'd be getting a visit from Jeff soon.