~BOOK 4/PART TWO~ Paranormal: The Battle's Only Just Begun (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

Rachael appeared outside a motel; the air was hot and dry, a drastic change from New Orleans. The sun was just peeking out over the horizon, giving the desert-like area a dim glow. She tugged at the collar of her shirt and stepped forward, unsure of why this was the place she showed up at. She knew why, but she didn't understand it. Kenya was here. She had to be. But where, and why?

The witch heaved a sigh, stopping in the center of the lot the u-shaped motel laid upon. She looked around, checking for any intruders, before bending down on the ground and drawing a rough sketch of the motel in the sand that covered the pavement. The witch then used her new sharp teeth to cut the palm of her hand, holding the wound over the makeshift map and her blood - black in color - dripping down onto it. Once there was a decent amount, she flipped her hand up and placed her other hand over it, healing the laceration.

She took one more quick glance around to make sure that no one was watching her before extending her arms out over the drawing and closing her eyes, beginning a chant incomprehensible to human ears but easily understood by the hunter who was sitting in the office, picking up the sound in the silence of the early morning.

Brian, who had taken over Lynn's job while she was occupied with Kenya, straightened his posture and peered over the desk to see the woman crouched down in the middle of the parking lot. He raised an eyebrow and carefully rose to his feet, slowly reaching for his gun that was specially designed to attack paranormals. He - as quietly as he could - checked that it was loaded, cocking it before slipping around the desk and running outside, shouting at the woman to stand up. The stranger's head snapped up, her eyes cast over in black and a frightened expression on her face.

Brian's gaze was drawn downward toward the map made out of sand and a black ink-like substance etched into the pavement. He recognized it immediately - she was performing a location spell.

He aimed the gun at her and growled, "What do you think you're doing here?"

The black faded away from the woman's eyes and was replaced with a kind blue. "I-I'm here looking for my friend. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"Oh really?" He tested, his jaw clenched and his grip around the weapon tightening, "No one in Archer City would be friends with a witch."

Rachael nodded her head and slowly stood up, Brian reaiming his gun at her, his heart pounding against his chest in a mixture of excitement and fear, the thrill of hunting pumping through his veins. "My friend doesn't live here. She lives somewhere else but came here for a visit. I was just wondering if you might know where she is," She explained, trying to keep things diplomatic between the two.

Brian allowed the staring contest to go on for a few more seconds before lowering his weapon. "You know Kenya, don't you?" The hunter rolled his eyes.

"Do you?" The girl asked, a glint of hope flashing in her eyes.

"I do, and I don't like that bitch," Brian lifted his gun on to his shoulder.

"Well, I don't like her sometimes either, but you know, you either love her or you hate her."

"It's like beer, either you like her or you don't," He compared, "But in her case, either you want to shoot her or you're heads over heels for her."

"Sure, you can say that," The witch agreed, slipping her hands into her pockets and daring to take a few steps towards the man before her, "Have you seen her? My name's Rachael. She and I are from New Orleans and-"

"Trust me, I know all about her and that damn city, but she's busy with Lynn right now." The young adult walked away, going for the check-in building, and Rachael followed behind him.

"Lynn? Who's Lynn?" She inquired out of curiosity.

"She's my partner, and not like you're thinking. She's my hunting partner," He remarked, crushing any assumptions the witch didn't even have the chance to make, "But she hasn't been acting like it ever since Kenya rolled back into town." Brian went behind the front desk. The witch was about to join him, when he slammed the door to the entrance, and the flower on the back counter blooming. Brian picked up the phone stationed next to the flower and began dialing for Lynn.

Rachael wanted to learn more about the history between Kenya and Lynn the hunter was talking about, but she knew it wasn't a time for storytelling. So instead, she asked, "So, um, do you happen to know where the two of them are? It's urgent and I really need to talk to her."

"That's why I'm calling her. They should still be at Lynn's place with the pups," He explained while not really elaborating on what happened two days ago, "That is, unless they left already..."

"No!" Rachael screamed, startling Brian.

"Chill out, they're just-" The hunter stopped short and began a conversation with Lynn on the other line. "Hey, Kenya's got a visitor. Jesus, how many more of these things are going to show up?" There were a few murmurs on the other line.

"Things?" Rachael muttered under her breath, giving the hunter an offended look.

"Shh!" Brian glared while returning to his conversation. "I can't keep her here!" He screamed, "If any hunters come through and notice her, they'll know something's up...So I should just bring her to you." A devilish grin crawled onto the human's face as he glanced up at the paranormal standing before him, a look of fear appearing on hers. "Okay, I've got this. I'll be there in a sec. See you soon." He placed the phone back in its cradle and smiled at the witch who spun around and darted for the door, not getting very far before she felt a sharp pain in her back and the world around her turned black.