The Good, The Bad, and the Undead. (Alpha and Seraphina)

Black cloud hung thick in skies above the Arizona desert, blotting out the moon and stars and plunging the badlands into total darkrnss. Launterns moved in the still night amid the abandoned buildings of mining town abandoned years ago, showing an unusual amount of activity for a ghost town. The offical story was that the mine had run dry so the company packed up and left, the citizens where not far behind.

The truth was more sinister than that.

They had unearthed something in the bowels of the Earth, some ancient temple to some god worshipped in a time so long ago that humanity couldn't even begin to fathom the age of it. Whatever was worshipped in this place went beyond human understanding and naturally the idioits of the mining company decided they needed to worship this ancient diety and worse it needed to be brought to the world of humans. They slaughtered the miners and towns people in bloody ritual hoping to bring the thing forward from the void.

But The Watchers couldn't allow that. Which is how Gideon Cross ended up lurking on a rooftop, watching one the armed guards saunter down the street whsiteling an off key tune. Cross had spent a lot of time lurking in shadows lately, but he found himself with a condition that made sunlight dangerous to his health. If he did travel during the day he generally kept himself covered from head to toe.

Fingers brushed over Sigal burned into the back of his neck.

I count four in town. No telling how many below ground. We should just collapse the tunnels, burry the nutjobs with their so called god.

He took a step forward, falling from the roof like a silent preditor in the night, the only sound the rustling of his duster as it flaired out around him. No sound when he landed and he took a quick step back into a darkened building, narrowly avoding the beam of a launtern from one of the watchmen. Cross watched the man pass, to him the street looked no different in total dark than it did under the harash noon sun. There was a whsiper of steel on leather as slipped a massive recover from the holster tied to his thigh.

Thoughts Cas?

Cassidy crouched silently behind one of the many dilapidated structures in the old ghost town. Her hand was rested flat against the dusty ground, her eyes closed as she sent a pulse of magic through the ground. She was trying to find both the entrances to the tunnels and a general number of enemies. One....Two....Three.... She counted silently to herself as her magic brushed each enemy close by. She heard Gideon's voice in her head and frowned. Ahh..there he is...four... She smiled, opening her emerald green eyes. Four was a simple task. Determining how many additional enemies lingered in the tunnels beneath them was what would be difficult.

Cassidy stood to her feet, pressing her back against the building as she peeked around the corner. Her partners suggestion to collapse the tunnels was a good one, but she knew the bosses wouldn't like that.

No, Gideon...They might have more sacrifices...A lot of people in nearby towns have gone missing lately...We can't risk letting them get buried alive as well...I sure as hell don't want to deal with the penalties...

The witch ran a hand through her hair and sighed softly. This was actually a difficult job to complete, which was why it was given to them. If anyone else had been assigned they would have had backup waiting for them. Cas knew they were good, but was it so hard to get a little help sometimes?

Take out who you can...Quietly...I'm going to find the tunnel entrance...Hide the bodies.

Cassidy didn't see anyone in her view so she took the opportunity to cross the center of the town, headed for a building that appeared to be an old saloon. She entered through the broken entry way and continued forward since she saw nothing to indicate any enemies. She felt the power before she saw the opening in the floor. "How crude..." she mumbled as the dark aura slivered over her skin. Whatever God these morons were worshiping was disgustingly evil. It was likely to turn on it's worshipers soon enough. She moved quietly forward, finding herself in the back of the saloon, a five foot opening in the floor. She peeked over the edge. It appeared to be a six or seven foot drop and then the tunnels began. A ladder was positioned in the opening to allow easier exit and entry. It occurred to her then, why wasn't there a guard.

Shit...

She felt the cold barrel of a revolver pressed against her shoulder. "Turn around girly..." came a gravely voice. Slowly Cassidy turned, raising her hands in the process. "Ahh..What's a pretty thing like you doin' round here?" He shoved the barrel into her chest and she frowned. In a swift move she kicked out at his knee, taking his moment of surprise to grab the revolver and twist it from his grasp. "You bitch..." he groaned. Cas chanted a couple soft words beneath her breath and the man's voice was gone.

"You don't get to talk...." She snapped. "Asshole..." She tossed the revolver away, finding little use for the cheap weapon. "Why didn't I sense you here?" she questioned, not expecting him to answer. She pushed him back, though he reached forward to grab her. "Ah ah ah..." she tsked, grabbing his neck and using magic to hold him against the floor boards. Even right in front of her she couldn't actually sense him. Someone had magic here, someone was shielding the guards. Not all of them though. The guard was struggling against her magic and she rolled her eyes, reaching down to a knife strapped to her thigh. She pulled it free and pressed it to the man's throat, "You shouldn't point a gun at a lady...." she whispered in his ear before pulling the blade across his throat. She stood, leaving him to bleed out on the ground as she looked back to the entrance.

I found the entrance, Gideon...The old saloon...Back room..

Wile dropping the tunnels was the most practical approve to this whole damned situation and greatly reduced their chances of being shot, something that was more of a pain to Gideon than an actual danger these days, he knew Cass was right. And as much as it went against his nature he had come to like being the good guy. And there was always atleast one pretty girl who was willing to spread her legs for the good guy.

Quiet...... Right....

He rolled his eyes and slipped the gun back into the holster. He flowed like a shadow out into the street, the smoothness of movement still felt odd to him even him. In utter silence he moved with speed he had never thought possible but now was common practice to him before comming up short behind one of the patroling guards.

Arms locked around the man's throat, cutting off his cries from alerting his friends and in a matter of seconds he was unconscious. The body slumped to the ground and another shot split the silent night.

"The tarnation!"

Gideon turned just as the twin barrels of a shotgun roared to life taking him full in the chest and knocking him go ground.

Gideon saw stars for several moments then slowly staggered back to his feet, "Do you have any idea how much that stings....?"

The sentery, seeing the black clad stranger getting back to his feet fumbled to reload but Gideon was too fast, grabbing the weapon barrels with one hand and bending them downwards at an angel before seizing the man by the throat tightly. A barely audible snap came from his neck and he went limp.

So yeah. Totally not my fault. He snuck up on me.

She heard the gunshot and rolled her eyes. "Gideon..." she grumbled aloud. She heard his mental response and couldn't stop a quiet laugh from slipping past her lips.

I'm going in...so hurry up...

She slid the dead body beside her into a dark corner to make him less obvious and then she peeked into the hole again. The witch couldn't see or hear anything that was alarming so she dropped into the hole, ignoring the readily available ladder. It would just make more noise and slow her down. She landed gracefully in a crouch, eyes quickly scanning the dark tunnel ahead of her. Luckily there was only one direction to go from the opening, that way she didn't have to cover her back and front.

There were very dim candles positioned every couple yards to somewhat illuminate the tunnel, but there were still a lot more shadows around than she was comfortable with. Very cautiously Cassidy pressed forward, trying to feel for any energies in front of her. Within a couple minutes she saw the tunnel split in three corridors. She sank to a knee, pressing her hand into the dirt floor, sending out her magic. She looked for any aura or energy that could hint at enemies or even hostages. Her magic could only reach out so far, and the tunnels proved to be much longer than she anticipated. The first tunnel had nothing she could sense, the second had several very human energies. The energies were relaxed so they were likely just the guards. The third tunnel however surprised her. About a quarter of a mile into the tunnel she felt something lash out at her gentle prodding. Her magic came crashing back into her painfully.

Gideon....these guys aren't just a load of dumb humans...there is someone down here using magic...It isn't the target...I...may have just spooked them...

Cassidy rubbed her arm in irritation, "That hurt..." she grumbled almost silently. She had to make the decision to head toward the guards or the unknown magic user. She decided it was best to wait. If they knew she was there they might come to her. If she walked off in another direction it could cause Gideon to get ambushed in her place.