He fought back a rising panic, pushed away the rising scenarios in his head. He refused to let thoughts of ages spent without his best friend. They'd spent decades apart in the past, but then there had been the promise of one day being together again. If Tristan failed this little adventure into the underworld, there would be no hope. The swift fall of destiny's blade would sever their ties for eternity, leaving James alone in a world he was quickly beginning to feel had gone completely mad. He couldn't help but wonder if he should give up and just join their insanity.

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, trying to block out a series of grisly images that seemed to delight in haunting him. He fought against visions of Emily's destroyed veins, her lifeblood nothing more but a dried mess in an empty house a few miles away. The visions would twist into Mary's cold and lifeless body now occupying a room only a few feet away, her lips a ghastly shade of blue. Blue would coil into nothing, the blank space that had once been occupied by Tristan, his body and soul now banished into a realm James was never allowed to go.

He'd smelled him long before he'd entered the room, reeking of burnt cloves and smug self-satisfaction. James scolded himself for daring to wonder how the night could possibly get any worse. It seemed that things were always delighted to show him just how much worse they could get.

James: "You must really enjoy pain."
Chris: "Others' more than my own."

James sighed heavily, mildly curious as to why he hadn't instantly thrown this idiot out the plate glass window the second he walked up.

James: "What do you want?"
Chris: "You look like you could use a friend. I'm here to offer my services."
James: "You seem to have forgotten how our last few meetings have ended. I'm not opposed to the idea of having my fists get friendly with your face again."
Chris: "If you were going to do anything to me, you'd have done it by now. So what's the story, morning glory? Lose something important tonight?"

James cringed openly before standing up, intent on finding a nice secluded area of the hospital to lure Peterson into before turning him to dust. It suddenly seemed so simple, he felt rather foolish for failing to think of it before now.

Chris: "So, the Laine girl is dead? I had no idea the bird meant so much to you. I was under the impression you had a thing for our fiery Mary."
James: "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

Chris: "How do you mean?"
James: "You're worse than one of those fucking irritating ass little yippy dogs, always coming around and putting on a big show to impress everyone. All you ever end up doing is annoying everyone to distraction. Why are you here? What possible reason could you have for continuing to hang around where you're not wanted, risking grievous bodily harm and possible total annihilation? Is someone paying you? Christ All Mighty, I'll fucking double it if you'll go the fuck away forever."

Chris: "My my, did I touch a nerve? I told you why I'm here-you look like you need a friend. I'm not your enemy, Selwyn."
James: "Fucking hell."
Chris: "I know why the Laine broad did herself in."

James froze, holding Peterson's gaze. For the first time, it occurred to him that maybe this man could be useful. He sat down again, sighing heavily.

Chris: "Got your attention now, don't I?"
James: "Go on."
Chris: "I'm actually surprised you never caught on, to be honest. Mary, now she's a smart one, she had it worked out from day one. Your friend, Little Boy Blue, he had it figured out pretty quickly as well. Where are they, anyway? I was rather hoping they'd be here for this."
James: "They'll be back."

Chris: "Oh well, suppose I'll just have to describe your reaction to them in detail."
James: "If you don't get on with it, I'll be describing my reaction by showing them the pile of dust that was once Chris Peterson."
Chris: "Goodness, aren't we touchy tonight? Anyway, you should know that Miss Laine was only the latest in a string of Andrew Stone's conquests. Seems she couldn't handle being tossed to the curb."
James: "How do you know this?"

Chris: "I have my ways."
James: "Why tell me any of this?"
Chris: "Like I said, I'm not your enemy Selwyn. You and your friends, you seem to want to fight the good fight for whatever reason. I just think you should know who to be fighting."

James: "So, what, do you want to put on a cape and play superhero? Is that what this is all about?"
Chris: "Nothing of the sort. You goodies leave a bad taste in my mouth. I just happen to like Stone even less than I like all of you."

James paused, replaying a conversation he'd had with Mary so many months ago now. She'd been sure that Stone was all sorts of bad, and made sure to point out that Tristan felt the same way. He'd been quietly watching Andy since then, but nothing had ever seemed out of the ordinary. The man was every bit as trustworthy as one could expect, and he certainly seemed to lavish attention on Emily. He thought for sure Mary and Tristan were merely jealous, seeing specters of distrustfulness in place of their own insecurities. Now there was a third outside force telling him that Stone was the enemy, one far removed from the taint of envy.

James: "What else do you know?"
Chris: "He's got an elaborate lab set up on the outskirts of town, all sorts of Frankensteinesque experiments going on over there. He even has a full staff of mad scientists."
James: "Mad scientists. You're joking, right? What did he do, look in the yellow pages under Scientists comma Mad?"
Chris: "I don't know how he found them, it didn't directly concern me. I just know weird shit happens there."

James: "Why? What's it all for?"
Chris: "Damned if I know. Something about vampires."
James: "You're really not very useful after all, are you?"
Chris: "Look, the man paid well. It wasn't my place to ask questions."

James: "And now he has you nervous, so you come crawling to us to help. Is that it? Are you afraid he'll lock you up in that lab?"
Chris: "Maybe. Maybe I'm just bored with his games and want to give him a taste of his own medicine. I don't see how my motives factor into this at all."
James: "No, you wouldn't."

Chris stood up and stretched languidly, looking to James for all the world like a snake uncoiling and preparing to strike. He half-expected him to start flicking a forked tongue out from his twisted half smile.

Chris: "I can see we're just going to end up spending the rest of the night dancing in circles. I've given you enough information for now, and quite frankly I'm bored. Just think about what I told you. Oh, and give Mary my love when you see her again. I'm so sorry she wasn't here for this."

James unconsciously fought the urge to break the man in half, instead letting him walk away without a fight. If nothing else, Peterson had given him something else to focus on if only for a little while.