This is the final sequel to 'Dual Shudder', which is the sequel of 'Dual Shiver'. I strongly recommend reading those before you start with this story. Before we start with the story, I'd like to thank my new editor JHB for his great work.
Dual Thrill
Chastity Dejager took another casual look at the watch on the inside of her wrist. With her combat boots, faded jeans and leather jacket, she looked like a tough girl just sauntering to no place in particular. That was, at least, the image she was shooting for. In reality, she was starting to get just a little excited as the Wiedmann-compass stubbornly pointed towards the same building, the Phi Beta Pi sorority.
When her little sister had called about something going on at her campus, the family had been pretty sure it was a false alarm. Hope was still new to the family-business and had to learn that, most of the time, demons were not the explanation.
Which was why Chastity was sent to check it out. She was 26, so she would blend in better and, as the youngest hunter, she also got stuck with most of the false alarms. The hope was that it would help settle her down and get her out of that stereotypical get-up that was hardly fitting for a young lady.
'But not this time,' she mused with a smile. 'Oh sure, it's not like this is the fifth invasion of the Ancient Ones. Probably just some stupid dare that got out of hand or some twit that thinks she's a witch. Stupid people do that
sort of stuff on Halloween.'
A sigh escaped her lips. She was all too aware of that because she had been along on a few of those. 'Ha! A few, more like all of them. And they didn't even trust me to actually participate, I was just backup!' A smile appeared again.
'But not this time,' Chastity vowed. 'I finally have the opportunity to show I can handle myself. Taking care of a Pandemon or some mischief spirit all by myself should do that nicely.' And of course that was what those ignorant girls had called up. If it had been anything actually dangerous there would have been signs. Demons weren't exactly known for their moderation after all.
The demon-hunter gave the building another look. She would come back tonight when everybody was asleep. She knew how to open locked doors even if you didn't have the, ah, key. And that way she wouldn't get interrupted as she hunted the thing down and banished its ass back to the Nether.
Chastity took a step back and was about to turn around to go back to her van when she collided with someone. She managed to keep her balance. The other person wasn't so lucky and began to fall when her arms shot out and grasped Chastity's sleeves.
A yelp and a squeal mingled as they tumbled down together ending in a grunt from the person now lying underneath Chastity. Dazed, the demon hunter lay there for a moment before she lifted herself up to see who had managed to take her down.
It turned out to be a pale girl, her face framed by black hair that made her blue eyes stand out even more than they would on their own. She was wearing a coat against the cold but for all that and the fall the woman seemed very much unfazed. 'In control.' Chastity wondered why she used those words.
One of the woman's hands--and Chastity only realized now that the woman was actually younger than she--was resting on the leather strap of the Wiedmann-compass. Her eyes darted to the device, but she kept herself from checking it for damage right that instant, remembering the strict imperative her family gave her to keep it's very existence hidden.
"Could you
get off
," the woman said.
Chastity frowned. "Uhm, what?" The woman's voice had changed midway through that sentence, like she was talking with two voices. "You don't sound good. Here, let me get off of you so you can breath properly. And get off the cold ground."
The woman blinked but didn't hesitate for more than a moment when a hand was offered to help her get up. "Thank you. And sorry for pulling you down with me. I'm
Sarah
by the way."
And there it was again. "Nice to meet you Sarah, my name is Chastity. As for saying sorry, you wouldn't have fallen if I had watched where I was going. So it should really be me apologizing to you. Especially with how your voice keeps going hoarse."
A puzzled little smile appeared on Sarah's face. "Oh, that? You didn't cause it. I've been nursing it for a while, so don't worry about it. But standing around out here in the cold isn't helping our health, so why don't you come in. I'm sure I can find something warm to pour down your throat." Sarah's expression grew impish with that last comment.
This made the hunter slightly uncomfortable. The words seemed to be laced with some hidden meaning, but she couldn't point at a single thing to back that piece of intuition up. "Come in where?"
Sarah waved her hand at the Phi Beta Pi building. "There, of course. I saw you looking at it so I was guessing you were looking for a way in. It can be a maze inside so I would be happy to
guide
you."
Once more that odd echo, like a second voice, entered Sarah's speech. It probably was nothing, just a cold or something. 'Remember Cas, nine times out of ten, the mundane explains everything.' Uncle Willbur had stamped that rule into her head and she hadn't been disappointed yet. Still, given where Sarah was living, it could be added to her reasons for why Chastity couldn't wait around for backup and therefore had to go in on her own.
For a moment she considered taking her up on the offer. It would give her a perfect chance to scope things out. But Sarah would, of course, make it impossible to use anything better than her eyes. And she didn't have any excuse to go inside, she didn't know anybody there except Sarah.
All those thoughts flitted behind what she thought was an expression that gave away nothing. "Oh, the sorority. No thanks. I was just checking it out for my... sister. She's thinking of joining and as her big sister I have to look out for her. You know how it is."
"I do, actually. But how much did you expect to learn from just looking at the building?" Sarah teased.
Chastity felt caught in a lie, made worse by the fact that she had been lying. As she thought furiously, her eyes happened to fall upon her compass. Moving her wrist behind her head to hide the device from Sarah's sight again, she scratched the back of her head. 'Yeah, that looks good. Look embarrassed.'
"I'm running really late and I just noticed my watch is broke."
Sarah seemed to take the hint. "And I'm holding you up." She moved aside. "It was interesting meeting you Chastity. Until next time, when you've got more of it."
She was already walking but looked back and waved her hand. "Sure, bye!" Exhaling in relief she walked away, not looking back at Sarah. Not seeing how her blue eyes drank in the sight of her butt with a secretive smile.
-------------------------------------------------
Just like she had done during the day, Chastity circled the building to feel the situation out. But this time she wasn't wearing the compass and she wasn't actually looking for any sign of otherworldly activity. She was just making sure everything was quiet and still.
She'd spent the afternoon and evening going over the building plan so she knew the lay-out as well as what info she could get on the people inside. If worst came to worst and she got caught, she'd just say she was a guest of one of the girls--Without making the mistake of using the wrong name with the wrong girl.
She also had her dark-brown hair tied into a ponytail so that it wouldn't get in the way but otherwise she hadn't done anything to her appearance that would make passersby think she was about to break into anything.
'And it seems that it is,' she thought with satisfaction. It was well past midnight but she had been at least a little afraid that someone would still be up. There wasn't, though, so she got to work on the door. Lock picking wasn't a skill one usually expected from decent people but the Dejagers saw themselves as protectors, law-enforcers of the supernatural.
With a satisfying click, the door opened and Chastity was in. She crouched silently near the door, not venturing any further as she tried to stop her heart from racing. But she couldn't help it; the thrill of finally going out on her own was too great. Knowing that, after tonight, the family would have to acknowledge Chastity's capabilites was just too delicious.
Still she waited, focusing her senses outwards instead to ensure that everything was still quiet. A minute elapsed and nothing changed. Satisfied Chastity started to move. 'Even money on it being in the basement or the attic, but since I am closer to the basement I'll start there.'
She didn't go straight there though, heeding another lesson from her uncle. 'Always make sure you know the way out,' she recalled. So she made a circuit of the ground floor, walking past the entry to the basement. She was congratulating herself on planning ahead after walking through the third identical corridor, but her thoughts and her body came to a crashing halt when, halfway through the fourth, she started to hear noises.