Mission Impossible

[Charlie Ayers]

"Kor?" Charlie whispered as he started up the steps of the Hazleton Manor. He could feel the demon nearby and his heart nearly beat out of his chest as he looked up at the landing. In his hands, he held the bags he'd gone shopping for, filled with various snacks and items that he picked out for himself, Tempie, and his brother. For some reason, after what he heard from Tempie, Charlie half expected the Hazleton family to be waiting for him with cult masks on and ritual daggers in hand. Of course, they weren't. Everything was just the way it had been when he left in the manor.

Still no sign of the demon in cat form but he knew he was near. Charlie turned as he stepped onto the landing and then nearly stepped backward and tripped down the steps when he saw the shape of a person down the hall. Skulking out of the shadows came Charlie's younger brother.

"Shit, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Charlie hissed, stepping forward in a hurry--and away from the steps. "What the hell are you doing out here anyway?"

His brother didn't answer but he did follow Charlie as he made his way towards the bedroom he shared with Tempie. Not that they shared the bed--ever. Just because they got married under the watchful eyes of their fathers didn't mean that they had consummated anything. And Tempie didn't even like him sleeping with her, so he used the little lounging couch in the sitting room. Hurray for big, old fashioned manor bedrooms, he supposed.

Although Tempie was his wife and all, Charlie still felt the urge to knock before he entered the room. He didn't, though, because a man was standing outside the door with a stern expression and it would have been like announcing to the world that he and Tempie weren't the husband and wife everybody in the family thought they were. Instead, he forced a smile, although the man at the door didn't smile back. Then he entered the room with his brother on his heels--almost literally.

"Tempie? Are you ready?" Charlie asked as he placed the bags down on the side table. A splotchy and familiar cat form slunk out with his tail in the air.

"Kor," Charlie said in relief when he saw him. Or Patches, as Tempie had been calling him. "Where's Tempie?"

[Temperance Ayers]

In a whirl of excitement, apprehension and sheer panic, Tempie ran around the room several times to gather up everything she needed for her big escape. First, she forgot the bag she kept hidden in the back of the closet. Where else would she put her clothes and the spellbook that had been handed down to her?! Only after she had amassed a pile of items did she realize that they all needed a container.

She dove into the closet to grab the bag and hastily threw things into it. Then, when things wouldn't fit the right way, she pulled them all out and sifted through them. The spellbook went in first. Then charms. Then some basic changes of clothes. Then the soft plush bunny toy from childhood that was her one guilty little secret, which had to be extracted from its hiding place and carefully wrapped in a small blanket.

Tempie couldn't believe that this was it—this was her chance to finally get out of the house, and go rescue her brother!

Help came from an unlikely place, however. When she first married Charlie, she thought that he would be just like the rest of the men in the family. Stuffy, rule-bound and sniveling at the feet of the elders. Surprisingly, he wasn't and Tempie was beginning to begrudgingly accept his company. It didn't mean that she liked him or anything! She was just using him to get out! And she could still hex him into an early grave if he tried anything!

She was in the bathroom, grabbing a toothbrush, when she heard the door opening. The bag was under the bed by now, mostly full. Tempie stuck out a head when her name was called and she made a frantic shushing motion. "Keep it down!" She hissed. The man outside could hear everything they said, so they had to maintain the utmost secrecy. "Come in here! Hurry!"

Despite the urgency of the situation, she still spared a Look at Charlie's brother, who was looking at her in some type of strange way. Maybe a hateful way, if she had to put name to it.

[Charlie Ayers]

"Okay?" Charlie looked over his shoulder, almost expecting to see that man outside hovering behind him. He wasn't, of course, but the idea that he might be listening to them made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Maybe Tempie was right. Maybe he should be more quiet. Shutting his big mouth, he followed her into the bathroom, Kor slinking around his ankles as he did. His brother stayed outside of the bathroom, but his presence was hard to ignore.

"Okay," Charlie said again, this time in a hushed whisper as he drew closer. Why was she in the bathroom, anyway? What was she doing? He eyed the bathroom and then Tempie, noticing that she was wielding her toothbrush. Oh. She was... she was brushing her teeth? His head spun as it seemed to do often when dealing with Tempie.

"That guy outside," he said. "We might be able to get Kor--Patches--to help us get rid of him so we can make a clean getaway. Unless you have a better plan?"

[Temperance Ayers]

"I was going to stab him with this," Tempie said mostly as a grim sort of joke, prodding the toothbrush in Charlie's direction. But really, she could have cursed him with that blindness curse that her mother loved to put on her! Patches rubbed lightly against her leg as if agreeing with Charlie's plan, and then hopped spryly up onto the counter. Absently, Tempie scratched behind his ears.

"Can Patches get him away from that door? There's a secret passage just down the hallway."

Tempie's gaze landed on Charlie's brother again and she repressed a sigh. He was still standing in the same place, staring at them. At her. At Charlie. The look on his face rubbed her the wrong way, so a little vindictively she closed the bathroom door on him. Creep. He'd probably be outside with his ear glued to the door, if she knew him.

[Charlie Ayers]

Charlie grinned and let out a nervous laugh--mostly because he thought Tempie was kidding and that was the appropriate response. But also because part of him thought she might not be kidding. Would she actually try and stab somebody with a toothbrush? Haha... Maybe. An amused demon's voice colored his head, sliding insidiously inside as if he belonged there alongside Charlie's own inner voice. Sometimes, Charlie had to wonder if the people who thought they were hearing voices were indeed just hearing a demon.

But that was outdated talk. Along with witches. And other things that went bump in the night. People these days liked to pretend that it was the people of the past that were gullible and foolish. Personally, Charlie found the reverse was true.

Tell her Patches can get rid of that idiot, easy peasy, Kor told him in that forever smug tone of his.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "Patches can do it."

He didn't even have to tell him to do it--he left the bathroom, tail narrowly escaping the door as Tempie closed it.

"Are we ready?" Charlie asked, glancing at the closed door. "I'm worried he might actually do it right now and I don't know what we need. Should I bring the bags I just bought? Should I leave them here? Are we leaving for good? Is your family going to chase us after this?"

[Temperance Ayers]

"He's such a nice cat... demon cat," Tempie added belatedly, still struggling with the concept of Patches being a demon. She was accustomed to demons—there were summoners on her side of the family, too, but she had grown so fond of Patches. And he seemed fond of her, if his lingering presence by her side meant anything.

Then again, maybe he plain didn't like Charlie or Charlie's silently staring brother.

After the door closed on Patches, Tempie turned to grab the toothpaste. "I don't know what my family will do and I don't care. We'll be far away by the time they find out." She glanced about distractedly, trying to see if there was anything that she had missed. "I already packed a bag. If there's anything you need, you'd better go and get it."

Tempie paused to look at Charlie. There was fresh resolve in her expression, but she couldn't help sparing a thought for him, too. She was uprooting him from his new home and his new life by dragging him into this. ...well, he offered. More than once. Even so, Tempie felt a little badly. Her family would do terrible things to him if they caught him.

We'll just have to make sure we're not caught then!

"Once we're far away from this stupid town, they won't be able to do anything to us!" Tempie would make sure of that. Her brother would, too—and he was much more powerful than her.

[Charlie Ayers]

"...right."

If only Tempie heard the things Kor said in the privacy of Charlie's own mind. He was a demon so of course, he was uncouth, unpleasant, and altogether... what was the word for it? A brat? The fact that he used a cat form to get around others in the real world was just icing on the cake because he embodied pretty much everything a cat was known for. Why he was so fond of Tempie... That was probably because he was ordered by Charlie to protect her. But he could have resented the order and did the bare minimum. Spoilers: he didn't. He actually seemed to care for Tempie. Maybe more than he cared for Charlie.

Okay, definitely more than he liked Charlie.

"I... no, I think I'll be fine," Charlie said, also somewhat distracted. That had more to do with the fact that he and Tempie were alone in the room now, though. Usually there was somebody else's eyes on them, like Charlie's brother or Kor. At the moment, it was just the two of them. Charlie suddenly felt speechless.

"Oh," he started but Tempie spoke over him--probably didn't even hear him since the word came out so softly. Charlie blinked. Yes. Once they were far away from this place... Charlie wondered where they would go from there--and if Tempie would stay with him or if she would find it an opportune time to be rid of him. He hoped not. His heart ached with the idea of separating. He knew it sounded stupid but... to him, it was love at first sight when he met Tempie, like it was meant to be all along. He quickly learned she didn't think the same way.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat. "Yeah! They can't touch us when we're out of the pull of their weird magic!"

Secretly, however, he was worried that after they broke Tempie's brother out and ran off, they were only going to anger the powers-that-be.

"If everything's together, we should go." He reached out his hand to her.

[Temperance Ayers]

There was no time for sentimentality. There was precious little time to notice that they were alone, or that in the confines of the bathroom, they were standing much closer together than usual. Tempie maintained a respectable working relationship distance from Charlie--that was to say, she tried to avoid being in the same room with him whenever possible.

Seeing Charlie--just the sight of him--brought up terrible feelings of grief and loss. Tempie had genuinely been in love with that boy. She felt for him more strongly than anyone before, and to lose him so suddenly and violently, to have Charlie thrust callously into her life in his place, it was almost unbearable at first.

But as with all wounds, grievous or light, time healed all. Now there was only a dull throb where the sharp pain used to be. Sometimes Tempie even found herself looking at Charlie, when he was doing something and not quite paying attention to her, studying the line of his jaw or the bend of his back. Sometimes, she smiled at him without realizing it, when he said something funny or strange or unexpected. Charlie was more worldly than Tempie; he hadn't lived his entire life locked away, with no contact to the outside world. Tempie often found herself incredibly curious about what lay beyond the manor house walls, but was always too proud to ask Charlie.

She stared at his hand for several long moments as it remained outstretched to her. Charlie really did try his best to please her, even when she was insufferably rude to him. Tempie did that on purpose, hoping to frustrate him, to goad him into saying or doing something that affirmed her initial impression of him. She wanted him to be an awful, unlikable person but all he was was good-natured and... well, sweet.

"...let's go." Tempie took his hand and, with her other one, opened the bathroom door. Charlie's brother was outside, in the same place they left him. His glance fell immediately to their hands and some kind of funny expression crossed his face.

Outside, there was a commotion. Raised voices reached her ears, the words indistinct. Tempie all but dragged Charlie over to the bed, where she grabbed her bag, stuffed her toothbrush into it, and slung it over her shoulder.

[Charlie Ayers]

For a few awkward moments, Charlie felt the heat crawl up the back of his neck. Tempie was looking down at his hand like it might turn into a snake and bite her. She still didn't trust him and he hated that; he did his best to be what she wanted but he didn't know when he came here what her life was like. It had taken some time in her presence to see it, to understand it. Of course she saw the world in a wholly different way but Charlie was hoping to open her eyes to a better world.

It didn't help, though, that her family insisted on keeping her locked inside. Also, Charlie's own brother made things even harder. To his relief, though, Kor--AKA Patches--bridged the gap a bit between them. The demon seemed to genuinely care for her, even if he did make some crass remarks a few times.

Eventually, Tempie did take his hand and Charlie smiled in his relief.

"Yeah," he agreed, turning with her to the door and heading out. Not even his brother's Look could make Charlie feel bad about being caught hand in hand with Tempie. She was still his wife, after all! Although... he had a feeling that farce would soon fall away after he helped her bust her brother out. That was okay. He could live with it, as long as Tempie was happy and free.

"We can't leave out the obvious way," Charlie said, which was... er, well, obvious. "The wards around your room are strong but... I think Patches might be able to open a small portal outside. It's not that far, but he can't take us straight there. Is that okay?"

[Temperance Ayers]

"Yes! Have him meet us outside the west wing, near the gardener's shed. The passage leads right to it," Tempie said breathlessly, giddy and suddenly filled with confidence as their plan was put into motion. Thinking about it made her jittery and nervous but doing things dispelled her fears.

And... well, having Charlie there did make her feel better, too, despite her reluctance to have him join in on the plan.

She gave his hand a slight squeeze. "Come on. We have to be quiet." Reaching the door, she slowly opened it and peeked outside. The man who usually stood there, guarding her room, was gone. In fact, the hallway was empty. Tempie frowned; what on earth did Patches do to the man?

...better now dwell on that, she thought wryly. She didn't want it to ruin her impression of Patches!

Carefully easing out into the hallway, Tempie held still for a moment longer—and held her breath, too. Good. No noise, no commotion. No one had discovered that the guard was missing. "Let's go," she muttered to Charlie, and stole down the hallway.

[Charlie Ayers]

"Okay," he said in a hushed tone, as if somebody was listening. Well, if Tempie was to be believed, they were. And he couldn't afford to question her. Not that he did in the first place. She knew this place and her family far better than he did. Still, he held his breath as if even that would alert others to their presence while they crept out into the hall. Nothing and nobody. Charlie swallowed hard, also not wanting to think about what happened to the guard. Or guards.

At Tempie's behest, he followed her. So many questions ran through his head and he sorely wanted to ask but now wasn't the time. As they made good time down the hall, he found that dear old Patches had taken care of quite a few of their problems on the way out. His heart started beating faster and his palms began to sweat the closer they got to their way out. Every single step, he was waiting for somebody or something to stop them. But Patches seemed to be really doing his job. Subconsciously, Charlie twisted his fingers into a good luck gesture.

Behind him, he was aware that his brother was also following them but there was no time or reason to tell him to turn back. If they were doing this, they probably weren't coming back here afterward. Charlie would rather have his brother with them than stuck here, left to whatever fate befell him.

But just as they were looking to their exit, free and clear, he heard an imposing male voice down the hall say, "Temperance?"

[Temperance Ayers]

They were almost there! That secret entrance hidden behind a long wall hanging was known only to Tempie and her brother. They discovered it purely by chance one day, when they were children, fooling around the grounds. Tempie used to slip out late at night to meet with... him.

She tried to push those thoughts away as they neared the maroon hanging. No use turning bitter thoughts towards the past now, when the future seemed even more bleak. Her hand in Charlie's shook; her fingers tightened around his. Behind them, she was aware of Charlie's brother following them like a silent wraith. He seemed to know what was going on, even if she wasn't sure what he thought of the whole escapade. When she looked over her shoulder at him—and also to make sure they weren't followed—she saw that his face was as blank as ever.

"Almost there," she whispered to Charlie, moments before her uncle's voice rang out. Tempie's head flew around. She stared at the still-empty hallway, but already she heard footsteps. "Hurry!" Tempie was running for the secret way out, dragging Charlie with her. "Here! In here!" She swept open the hanging and fumbled with the wall, dropping Charlie's hand so that her frantic fingers could cover more ground.

Click!

She pressed into a part of the wall and a switch flicked. Then part of the wall swung open, revealing a long, black tunnel.

[Charlie Ayers]

Oh no! They weren't going to make it! They were caught! Charlie's heart pounded in his ears and his lungs burned but they... they somehow made it. Through a secret passageway that Charlie had never seen before. His eyes were wide as the wall seemed to slide behind them. It seemed like they'd lost the old man for now but they had little time to lose. If it was known they were running around, it was probably known they were trying to escape. Charlie didn't know how well the family knew Tempie but they had to at least guess she might try to rescue her brother on her way out.

"We have to hurry to the library, Tempie," he said urgently, tugging on her hand. Then he blinked. Stared. He could hardly hear anything over the pounding in his ears.

"This... this is... this is it," he gasped, unable to quite comprehend it. Magic? Did magic bring them here?

"This is where I saw K--Patches. This is where... your brother is?" He turned to look at Tempie, half afraid of the answer and what they would find.

[Temperance Ayers]

"Temperance?"

"Where is she?"

"I saw her go in here..."

The muffled voices faded behind them as Tempie ran for her life, dragging Charlie, dragging Charlie's brother along with her. There were two wrists in her hands, such was her frantic rush to get away. Her uncle had to have seen her disappearing into the secret tunnel. They would be blasting through the wall soon and then they'd be caught and--

All of a sudden, the world twisted. Tempie came to a violent halt with her stomach churning and looked around in bewilderment. The dank, cold tunnel had given away to a hallway lined with doors. But directly in front of them was an imposing door that clearly betrayed its true function.

"This... He's here!" Tempie dropped their wrists and ran to the door, putting out a hand to feel the magical barriers surrounding it. Dear Patches. Wonderful Patches. His portal led them directly to where Tempie's brother was imprisoned! "We have to get inside! He's in here!"

She turned to see Charlie's brother with a hand on Charlie's arm. He whispered something into Charlie's ear, something vaguely like an urgent plea for him to leave. Tempie's eyes narrowed but... he was right. Now that Charlie had gotten her here, his job was done and he didn't have to put himself in the path of danger.

"...you two should go. Before my family catches up with us." Her hand slid out, without hesitation, and touched the side of Charlie's hand. "...thank you."

[Charlie Ayers]

"What?" Charlie stared at Tempie. Even with Robbie begging him to leave, he couldn't. Real or not, Tempie was his wife. He couldn't leave her behind to face whatever came next on her own. What if she didn't get to her brother on time? What if her brother wasn't who she thought he was? Charlie still remembered what almost happened to him, with a chill down his spine. Shivering slightly, he grasped Tempie's hand tightly in his, afraid she was going to slip away from him.

"No," he insisted. "We're helping. We're going through this whole thing together. You might need our help."

If not him, at least Patches. That had to count for something. And if they had to, he could... he could always summon another one. Making pacts with demons stole life from him but what was his life if he couldn't help protect the people he cared about?