Hurried but calm, Ervenar filled tiny satchels with dried wolfsbane. He handed one to each of them and pointed them to a box with pre-cut cotton chains. As fast as possible, they created their provisional pendants, hoping they would protect them - against something they did not even know about a few minutes ago.
“Did you feel anything?” Luke asked Colleen at one point. “I know Danny and you split up. But he still talks about you a lot. You think he could lure you in somehow?”
Colleen shrugged. “Can’t say I did,” she said after thinking about it for a moment. “But while Foggy is out in Matt’s territory, I’m far away from Danny. So he probably doesn’t even know where I am. Hell, I don’t know where I am.”
Letting out a tiny chuckle, Luke nodded. “True. Even mind reading wouldn’t help Danny at the moment. Strange really knows how to keep his secrets,” he said. “But seriously, how are you?”
“I’m fine,” Colleen said. “It’s Foggy who is in danger. I…,” she groaned. “I had a bad feeling, letting him go alone. I should’ve said something. Should have insisted that someone…”
“We didn’t know,” Luke said, trying to calm her. “We had every reason to believe Foggy was safe during the day. He is smart and capable. Maybe everything is alright.”
“Well, he has not arrived back at the Sanctum so far.” Colleen gestured towards Strange who sat on the floor in a Lotus position with a highly concentrated face. “I assume, Strange tried locating him there first. But since he is still at it…”
“He’ll find him,” Luke said firmly. “He is a bit weird, but he is a powerful ally.”
“Whose knowledge about vampires is severely lacking,” croaked Ervenar as he handed Colleen the final satchel with wolfsbane. “Well, he is not the first Sorcerer Supreme so focused on other dimensional threats that they wouldn’t recognize the danger right at their doorsteps.”
“Well, he resorted to his books,” Luke said, defending Strange. “Not his fault they were inaccurate. Maybe you should write a book.”
“Hah!” Ervenar exclaimed. “The world is not ready for that.”
He left Colleen and Luke to go back to his workplace.
“How are you holding up?” Colleen asked Luke. “Danny is like a brother to you and Matt is your friend, too.”
“I…,” Luke hesitated. “Of course, I worry. But… They are strong and so are we. We’ll get them back.”
Colleen merely nodded. She could see and sense the deep concern behind Luke’s facade. But he needed hope and so did she. So did all of them. Losing Matt and Danny, maybe even Foggy, was not an acceptable option.
Strange jumped to his feet. “I found him,” he said. “Let’s hurry. He is very relaxed.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Luke asked, scratching his head. “If he is relaxed? Relaxed is good, right?”
“Not that amount of relaxation,” Strange insisted, already whirling his fingers to create a portal. “In our current situation, he should at least be a tiny bit tense.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Strange’s magic portal opened. Frowning, Colleen saw a subway station on the other side. No sunlight and only very few exit points. Foggy definitely should have known that this was not a safe place when stalked by a vampire. If he was thinking clearly.
With a bad feeling, she followed Strange through the portal. Behind her, the others passed the gateway as well before it closed.
“I can’t locate him exactly,” Strange said. “Let’s split up. And let’s hurry!”
Colleen was about to run towards the stairs when Luke stopped her.
“You shouldn’t go alone,” he said. “If Matt’s here for Foggy, Danny might be here for you. You go with Jess,” he pointed at Jessica who was poking her head through lavatory doors at the moment, “Misty, check the exit points, Strange and I check the platforms. Come on, Strange.”
Misty ran off. Strange nodded in affirmation and went with Luke.
“Al… alright!” Colleen nodded and followed Jessica.
*
Nothing except Matt mattered. The noises, the garish fluorescent lights, the unpleasant smells of the underground all faded into the background. There was only Matt, holding him, caressing him, wanting him. What more could he want?
Matt’s right hand circled around Foggy’s neck, not choking, not painful, just making a point. His lips moved insistently against Foggy’s. The tantalizing rhythm beckoned Foggy to open up and Foggy obeyed. Matt deepened their kiss, his tongue seeking out its counterpart. Foggy’s knees buckled, but Matt’s strong arms held him up, protective and firm.
His hand now found its way into Foggy’s hair. A gentle tug was all it took for Foggy to tilt his head and bare his throat. Humming, in satisfaction, Matt nipped one last time at Foggy’s bottom lip before kissing his way along Foggy’s jaw towards his pulse point.
A moan escaped Foggy when Matt tenderly nosed along the vulnerable flesh. His breath was cool against Foggy’s heated skin, sending a shiver down Foggy’s spine.
Smiling, Foggy sighed. He loved Matt so much and wanted to be with him so badly. Matt made him feel safe and protected, like Foggy was something precious to keep, prized, secured, resting on silk and gossamer. These thoughts formed a lovely veil around Foggy’s mind, all doubt and hesitation banished behind it and damned to scream in vain, unheard forever.
Foggy gasped. A short, sharp bite broke his skin. Pain and pleasure shot through his body when Matt’s teeth sank deeper into the twin wounds they had caused. Matt’s lips closed around the punctures as the blood began to flow, a warm sensation in the cold embrace.
Whimpering, Foggy clung to Matt, fingers clenching into the suit. Now and again, Matt would pull off and lave the bleeding spot with his tongue. He caressed Foggy’s hair, making soothing noises, whispering to Foggy how good he was and how sweet he tasted. All the while his hard erection pressed against Foggy’s soft stomach, making Foggy ache to touch it.
Finally, Matt grabbed Foggy’s hand and led it towards his cock. Matt released Foggy’s neck and brought their mouths together, chaste and sweet this time. The tender kiss carried the faint coppery taste of his own blood. If anything, this excited Foggy even more as he felt both like he was marked and marking. Smiling, Matt brushed their noses against each other, groaning when Foggy cupped his manhood through the suit.
“I want you so badly, Foggy,” he whispered. “But first… one more thing.”
Matt moved away. Gently, he shushed when Foggy whimpered at the loss of touch. After pulling off his gloves, Matt freed his left wrist. For a moment, he halted and tilted his head. A whispered curse fell from his lips. His hesitation worried Foggy. Had he done something wrong? Had he angered Matt? Disappointed him? But Matt gave Foggy a reassuring grin, chasing all the concerns away.
“All is fine, sweetheart,” he said. “We’ll just have to hurry a bit.”
He dug his fangs into his own skin, creating a small but bleeding wound.
Smiling, he presented the ruby liquid to Foggy. Foggy’s vision tunneled, zoomed in on the red rivulet falling from Matt’s body. But a loud bang ripped him out of his haze.
Foggy’s eyes fell on the door. With a snarl, Matt whirled around, growling like an animal at Jess who stormed into the room.
“Colleen, get Foggy!” she shouted just before a rageous Matt rushed at her with lightning speed and tackled her to the ground.
*
It was easier said than done. Foggy leant against the wall, a hazy expression on his face. Two round wounds adorned the side of his neck, fortunately not bleeding profusely. Like in a trance - well, no, probably in fact in a trance, Foggy watched Matt as if waiting for his return. To Colleen’s luck though, Foggy did not try to fight her when she grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the wall. Almost indifferent, he went with her motions.
But they did not get far. Unlike Foggy, Matt was absolutely not indifferent about Foggy leaving. Colleen heard a thud and a pained moan from Jessica. The next moment, she was grabbed from behind and ripped away from Foggy. In her periphery, she saw Foggy fall to the ground, but he neither made a sound nor any attempt to get up.
Colleen tried keeping her balance. But the force of Matt’s attack made her lose her standing. Painfully, she landed in a corner with cleaning utensils. Her ears filled with the clattering and clanking of several metal buckets and a falling mop hit her head. Cursing, she tried getting up. Not far from her, Jessica rubbed her temple and scrambled to her feet. But just as she stood, Matt was back on her. He grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up like a doll.
“Oh, Jessica,” he cooed. “Always so impatient. Don’t worry, your time will come. But Foggy first.”
“He is not on the menu,” Jess pressed out as she struggled in Matt’s grip. “And neither am I.”
Matt chuckled, “You’re not in charge of the buffet, sweetheart.”
Desperately, Colleen watched. Strange had warned her not to get too close to Matt or Danny, since - like Danny - she might be more vulnerable to vampiric infection. In panic, Colleen grabbed her phone and punched in a message to Luke where to find them. Then she crawled over to the dazed Foggy to lead him away.
But there was no sneaking around Matt Murdock. He snarled and threw Jess, as if she was one of his weapons, in Colleen’s direction. Colleen tried to roll away, but Jess collided with her side, sending them both sprawling on the floor.
When he turned to Foggy, Matt’s expression transformed into something painfully soft. Almost gallantly, he stretched his hand out to Foggy and smiled.
“Come on, Foggy,” he said, dark silk in his voice. “Let’s find a quieter place.”
Like a besotted teenager, Foggy grinned. Nodding, he took the offered hand and let Matt pull him to his feet.
Groaning, Colleen got up. Jessica was visibly in pain, but straightened her back and attacked Matt. Apparently, he had not anticipated this sudden surge of second wind. Quickly, he took a defensive stance, but at the last moment, Jess stopped and instead of attacking Matt, seized Foggy’s sleeve. She pulled Foggy behind her, casting a challenging look at Matt.
Behind Matt, Strange appeared. Colleen tried to keep her face neutral so as not to give him away. But Matt did not need any hints. Smugly and without even turning around, he spoke, “Steven - what took you so long? I’m afraid, I’m by now immune to a lot of your tricks.”
“I’m not here to fight you, Matt,” Strange said.
He performed the gestures Colleen knew by now. So she was not surprised that a portal appeared, but it appeared behind Matt, from her position. How was that going to help?
“I won’t let you through,” Matt hissed. “I won’t let you take him to the Sanctum.”
“This doesn’t lead to the Sanctum,” Strange said.
Furrowing his brows, Matt hesitated. Luckily, Colleen caught up faster. Despite the earlier warnings, Colleen summoned the Dragon’s power and jumped forward. Before Matt could react, she slammed her glowing fist against Matt’s chest, pushing him backwards. With a cry of rage, Matt fell through the portal and disappeared in the pitchblack darkness behind it. A twist of Strange’s hand closed the gate and Colleen and Jess let out a sigh of relief.
“Matt?” Foggy’s voice sounded. Blinking, he came back to himself. He was swaying from side to side, maybe due to the blood loss, maybe the magic was taking its toll, maybe both. Quickly, Jess took hold of his shoulders, steadying him.
“I… what… where?” Foggy stammered but then his eyes widened, “Oh God! Matt! What did you do? Is he…”
“The portal led into the sewers,” Strange said reassuringly. “He won’t be exposed to the sun there. But it also will enable him to move around. We should go. Where is Cage?”
Frowning, Colleen looked at her phone. “I texted him 7 minutes ago. I admit it’s not exactly coherent, but he should have come looking for us here.”
“Hmm, we were both at the platforms,” Strange said. “It should take him not much longer to come here than it took me,”
He opened another portal.
“Ms. Wing, please take Mr. Nelson to the Sanctum,” he said. “Ms. Jones, you and I will look for Mr. Cage.”
Both women nodded. With a defeated look on his face, Foggy allowed Colleen to support him and lead him through the magic gate.
*
After checking all platforms twice, Jess groaned.
“Where did he go?” she demanded even though Strange knew no more than her. “The guy is huge! How did we lose him of all people?”
“That is indeed a very good question,” Strange admitted. “But at least we can be sure… oh no!”
Jess did not at all like that change in Strange’s tone. Following his gaze, her eyes fell on a small item near one of the thick columns of the station. Cursing, she hurried towards it and picked it up.
“Fuck,” she exclaimed.
From her slender fingers dangled a small satchel with dried wolfsbane on a ripped chain.