The Adventures of
Nightshade

A small twist of her arm caused a knife to appear in her hand. She lowered the blade until it rested under his throat. His eyes snapped open at the cool touch of metal and he drew in a deep breath. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this," Ari continued. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." Her voice was a low purr in the darkness.

"Shade," he corrected hastily. "Nightshade." Lucas struggled to regain his calm. "You don't understand."

"You set me up," she growled, interrupting him. "You tried to have me killed!" Reaching into her pocket with her free hand, Ari retrieved a small vial. She held it up, the dark liquid glistening in the moonlight. "Tincture of nightshade," she remarked. "My calling card. It causes hot dry skin, delirium, and hallucinations, followed by stiffness, fever, and convulsions." She smiled at the barely concealed fear in Lucas' eyes.

"You expect me to drink that?" Lucas drawled, dark eyes flashing. "No way in hell. You'll have to find some other way to kill me."

Arian laughed softly. "Oh, you're dead anyway. I wasn't going to take any chances with you. This knife was coated with poison. It's called croton oil. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Lucas paled, then narrowed his eyes. "You're bluffing," he accused. "You wouldn't kill me, Shadow-" He choked as a liquid suddenly splashed into his mouth. He swallowed reflexively.

"You talk too much." Ari held the now empty vial over him, shaking it to get the last few drops in to his mouth. "Sweet dreams," she whispered, standing up and backing away.

Lucas attempted to rise, a vague thought about reaching the guards in his mind. His hand touched the wooden post, fingers scrabbling for purchase on the engraved serpants entwined on it. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he jerked back. "Get them off me!" He became more frantic, trying to pull imaginary creatures off his arm and succeeding only in scratching himself. In shock, he stared at the blood welling on his arm.

Fighting off the hallucinations for a moment, he used the blood to draw a rune on the bed. Arian intervened, calling out and distracting him long enough for the delirium to take over once more. The poison ran its course, sending Lucas into convulsions. His body twisted in the sheets, writhing against the bed. In minutes he was dead.

Ari sighed. "That was fun."

"And Arian lived happily ever after. Once a year she would go to a necromancer and he would bring Lucas back for her to kill again. Everyone was happy with this arrangement, except for Lucas of course. The End."

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Nightshade: Episode 2: Second Chances

"If you've broken another of my picks…" Ria let her voice trail off threateningly.

Arian tossed her hair back. "You'll what?" Her gaze challenged Ria to say something.

"I won't tell you the surprise I was planning."

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Ari frowned. "Surprise?" she asked doubtfully. "Why don't I trust you?"

"Because you know me," Ria replied flippantly. "Seriously, Ari, you've spent the day moping and I just wanted to cheer you up."

"I was not moping," muttered Ari. "What's the surprise?"

Ria smiled, knowing Arian was hooked. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." Turning, she glanced out the window. "Oh look, there's someone I know," she exclaimed, in an obvious stall. "I'll talk to you later." In a fluid movement, she jumped out the window, catching herself on the ledge, and climbing down the drainpipe. Landing safely on the ground, Ria risked a look up. She waved at Arian's scowling face and darted across the street.

Three hours did not improve Arian's mood. Ria stared at the crossbow bolt embedded in the wall next to her and very carefully did not move.

"I wasn't sure if you'd come in the door or the window." Arian held the crossbow loosely in one hand, no longer aiming it. There was a moment of silence. "Aren't you going to say something like 'If you kill me, you'll never find out what the surprise is?'"

"Actually, that wouldn't make a difference. I've hired a necromancer."

"What?!" screeched Arian. "Those people use black magic! They're evil."

Ria shrugged. "They can also bring back the dead. I had a few questions I needed to ask Lucas before you killed him the first time."

"Lucas?" Ari repeated, her tone full of hate. "And what do you mean, the first time I killed him?"

Smiling innocently, Ria continued. "Well, we don't want Lucas roaming around as one of the undead, do we? And you are the assassin." She gauged Ari's acceptance of the idea. "I thought it might cheer you up."

"I do have a new poison I've been wanting to try out," murmured Arian thoughtfully.

"That's the spirit! Or the corpse," Ria added, ducking as Ari threw the crossbow at her. "We're supposed to meet him in the palace crypt, so pack whatever you need and let's go. Unless you're still troubled by your conscience?"

Arian touched a floorboard, shifting it to reveal a hidden compartment. "Anything that let's me kill Lucas is good."

Ria fixed her with a hard stare. "Our primary concern is to get information, Ari. Don't make me regret taking you along. I still don't believe Lucas would set you up like that. Not that he wouldn't have betrayed either of us in a second, but he wouldn't have done anything suicidal."

"He's evil," Ari said flatly.

"The only reason I'm not going to debate this is because an argument would defeat the purpose of cheering you up and I want to be there before the necromancer wakes Lucas. I doubt Lucas will pass up another chance at life."

"Lying bastard," growled Ari. Looking up, she met Ria's gaze and rolled her eyes. "Alright. I've got everything. Can I at least torture the information out of him?" Slinging the pack over her shoulder, Ari headed out the door.

"No." Following a step behind, Ria shut it, the lock clicking into place.

"Please?"

"No!" Their voices faded as they walked down the hallway.

Ari trailed a hand over the marble tomb, leaving a visible trail in the dust coating it. "I'm not very impressed with the décor."

"Ahem." The necromancer cleared his throat loudly. "If we may begin, ladies?" He rubbed his hands together, a dry rustling sound.

Ari looked him over, distaste stamped across her face.

"I've seen you give spiders warmer looks," muttered Ria before stepping forward. "Is there anything we need to do?" she inquired in a louder voice.

He waved a pale hand dismissively. "Nyet. You have my money?"

A pouch appeared in Ria's hand from nowhere. It jingled slightly as she tossed it to him. "30 pieces, pure silver as requested." Pure silver coins were rare, the silver was usually mixed with baser metals and the extra pocketed by corrupt guards.

Ari leaned over her shoulder. "Pure silver? Since when do you carry coins in pure silver?"

"Where do you think I disappeared to?" Ria hissed back. "I stole it from the palace guards when I checked out the crypt." She fell silent as the necromancer began chanting. The chant droned on and they quickly became bored, taking turns drawing designs in the dust.

Eventually the strange words came to a halt. The necromancer reached into his robes and removed a flask. He sprinkled a few drops of the red liquid over the coffin. "Lucas," he intoned, calling the spirit back to the flesh. He repeated the name two more times, sprinkling a few more drops each time.

As the echoes died down for the last time, a scratching noise was heard from inside the coffin. The necromancer cautiously pushed the lid open and Lucas sat up. Lucas blinked, apparently confused by his surroundings.

Ria stepped closer to him and waved, catching his attention. "Hey. Welcome back."

"Shadow? What's happened? Everything feels wrong somehow..."

"Ah, err, well you see," Ria started, concentrating intently on the floor tiles. "You're, um, dead."

"Dead?" Lucas repeated incredulously. He smiled. "And you've called me back so I can get revenge."

"Not exactly. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Please say it's my face as you're convulsing in agony," Arian chimed in.

Lucas turned his head to stare at her and his eyes went wide. "You... you killed me. You poured something down my throat."

Arian clapped her hands together in delight. "You do remember!"

"Do you remember why she did that, Lucas?" I interrupted.

"It was all a misunderstanding. Listen, darlin', you don't think I would ever try and remove Nightshade." Lucas realized that neither of them believed him. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

Ria and Ari exchanged glances. "That's a good question, Lucas," Ria said softly. "I'd really like to know the answer." Ari set the pack down and began to rummage through it.

"Got it," she exclaimed, removing a spray can. Her eyes gleamed as she approached Lucas.

"Lucas," Ria entreated. "It got you killed, why should you be loyal?"

He flinched away as Ari continued towards him but remained stubbornly silent. Ari paused in front of the coffin. "What are you doing?"

"Torture. It works like this. You refuse to answer Shadow's question, and I spray you." Ari demonstrated, spraying his hand. Where the liquid touched it, the skin began to bubble and peel off, darkening. Lucas screamed, scrabbling back against the coffin in terror.

"I..I was told to," he stammered, staring at his hand in shock.

"By whom?"

He hesitated slightly and Ari sprayed his leg. Automatically his hand came down to brush off the burning acid, jerking back when it started to eat into his hand as well.

"I don't know!"

"Liar!" growled Ari, spraying him again.

Lucas shook his head frantically. "He didn't give his name."

"You would have found it out," Ria stated, a hint of sorrow in her voice. "What was his name?"

"Bester," Lucas gasped. "His name was Bester." Ari sprayed him and he glared at her. "That's the truth!"

She smiled at him. "I know. I'm just enjoying myself." Her voice turned thoughtful. "I wonder if enough of this acid could kill a zombie," she mused. "I'd need more than one canister though. Pity." She shook the can, judging the amount left, then sighed regretfully. Ignoring the panic stricken look in his eyes, Ari casually walked back to her bag. "This will do the trick nicely," she remarked, retrieving two small objects. "Catch!"

Senses dulled by death and pain, Lucas missed the balloon that was thrown at him. It exploded on impact, drenching him in a heavy liquid. He sniffed, tensing as he recognized the smell of kerosene.

Ari lit the match and walked towards him, still smiling. "I hope you burn in hell." She dropped the match and stepped quickly back. The fire swept over Lucas, burning through his clothes and flesh. The smell of charred meat filled the room, causing Ria to gag. "Look at the pretty flames," Ari remarked happily.

The necromancer eyed her in much the same way that she had examined him earlier and inched towards the door. "I'll just be going now. Pleasure doing business with you."

"The pleasure's mine," Ari answered dreamily, watching as Lucas burned to a crisp.

The necromancer reached the door and bolted, disappearing into the night.

A thought occurred to Ari and she glanced over at Ria. "You didn't have any more questions for him, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Ria replied.

"Well why didn't you stop me?" Ari demanded exasperatedly.

Ria shrugged, looking at the dying embers and blackened bones. "You were having so much fun…besides, we can always resurrect him tomorrow night."

"Yay!"

Ria looked back out the door. "I don't think that necromancer will charge us again either."

"And so Arian returned home, feeling much happier, and dreamed of all the ways she could kill Lucas tomorrow. Ria slept well, knowing that her lockpicks were safe for another day. And the necromancer? He slept much better not knowing the guards were hunting for their missing silver. Until tomorrow night, rest in peace."

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