Rising Light

Chapter 9: The Exorcism of John Constantine

Thunder cracked, like a whip, making Kate jump awake. It took a moment for her to realise what was going on. She vaguely remembered the fight, the sting of a needle.

She shifted slightly, felt the pain of something against her wrists, as she took in her surroundings. It was the back of a van; beside her, Zed was still unconscious, and there was something just beyond her that she couldn't see properly.

Zed shifted slightly, restlessly. A vision.

Kate waited, not wanting to disrupt, trying to get her bearings, to make sense of where they were and what she could do about it.

Zed was panting when Kate looked back to her, slowly coming out of the vision. Not that their driver seemed to care much about her actual well-being.

"Still experiencing the visions?" the man asked. "Getting more powers?" There was something about the shift in his voice that told Kate he was no longer talking to Zed, but she tried her best to ignore it. Getting out of there was the priority; second only to hitting the guy for everything that he had done.

She started wriggling instead, focusing on getting free, in getting them away safely.

"Your father will be pleased," the man continued, and there was no ignoring the happiness behind his voice. "He didn't want to do it this way. You forced his hand."

"That bastard should allow me to live my own life!" shouted Zed, standing and starting towards the doors. Kate wanted to tell her not to, but she knew instead that she needed to focus on the bonds. She shifted her legs, trying to get herself with them in front of her, staying close to the back of the seats, making sure that the driver couldn't see her. "I'm not letting you take me back there!"

"It's a waste of time," the man said. "Stop it!"

"Why? Afraid I might actually get through?" countered Zed, her attention slipping momentarily towards Kate.

"Not you," the guy mumbled. 'Katherine.'

"Is it because I actually eat my spinach?" she asked, shooting him an innocent smile as she moved slightly into his view, hiding her hands under her shirt.

Zed kept attacking the doors. Kate stayed put, knowing that eventually the man would have to stop, that she'd get her chance. Her mind was reeling with questions, about Zed, about their situation, about everything, but she tried desperately to focus her thoughts on escaping.

The guy hit the breaks. The van screeched to a halt, sending Zed crashing into Kate. They both groaned, but Kate hastily shifted away from Zed, readying herself.

Beside her, Zed hurried to get her hands in front of her as well, but Kate was already crouching by the door, listening carefully. The man walked briskly around the van, threw open the doors.

And Kate pounced. She bowled him to the floor and brought her hands down against his wrist, knocking the syringe to the floor. She kicked him in the ribs, winding him. Her mind was whirling, she thought that everything looked brighter somehow, sharper, as she tried to keep him still. He squirmed beneath her.

A moment later Zed had the syringe in the man's neck. He started to grow weaker, grabbing at the air lazily as he screamed.

"You spend enough time with a magician, you learn a few tricks," growled Zed.

"Your father... He'll never stop," the man breathed as the two of them finally stood up, panting a little.

"My father? I'd rather die before I'll ever go back there!" Zed said, kicking the man in the ribs, as if to punctuate each comment.