<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #00FF00">The Dark Hallways</span></span><br/><br/>Jess kept her eyes constantly on both Julien and Carly throughout the entire exchange, never once letting either out of her sight. The Lurker's revelations explained a good deal to her, but at the same time they also gave her more insight into his methodology; the workings of his mind and the outworking of his schemes. No mere short-term goal driven Lurker this one; he had his eyes firmly fixed on long-term consequences and greater achievements. Higher aspirations- perhaps even the god-complex she'd guessed at earlier? His claim- no doubt valid- to have subtly enticed and ensnared a great many souls,<span style="font-style: italic"> "making them mine,"</span>as he had worded it, certainly bespoke more than a hint of such a disposition. Jess kept her vigilance at maximum, even as she ran through his reply in her mind, before addressing the Lurker again.<br/><br/>"Like master like servant I suppose, Doctor Summerfield," she began, "Perhaps I could even congratulate you for being resourceful- but once again, just not terribly original. You work<span style="font-style: italic">exactly</span>the way Lucifer himself works- and I guess if something ain't broke, don't fix it hmm? A tried and tested template to work with you have there. But Doctor, you do seem to have miscalculated with so many little facets of your suppositions," Jess concluded. She paused only long enough to take a breath, keeping a keen eye on the Lurker's face as she spoke again.<br/><br/>"For one, you mistake my disposition quite; you give the impression of presuming annoyance or fear on my part. Unless that's just a facade, or an attempt to gain insight Julien, then you make a greater miscalculation than I'd have expected of you. Annoyance didn't cause me to move more openly- that was done for Carly's sake," she gestured towards the cat-girl briefly before continuing, "secondly, you've twice now asked if I'm afraid. I don't doubt though, that you've already discerned that there is in me not even the slightest trace of fear you can latch onto- does<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>scare<span style="font-style: italic">you</span>?"<br/><br/>Jess allowed that question to hang in the unnaturally still air for a moment before continuing on. "As for the weapon I wield," she said, "you're right, the power it embodies cannot be crafted into a wielding weapon, or into<span style="font-style: italic">any</span>weapon for that matter. It is power granted directly from the Most High- it can never be gained, only given and that never apart from His will. My weapon is a manifestation of His own power, granted me purely by His grace. As for your final point," Jess stated, drawing a breath as she drew the matter to a close, "I never said I would<span style="font-style: italic">kill</span>you, I simply asked you to<span style="font-style: italic">guess</span>what would happen if my blade went through your eye. Killing you is still certainly an option and you may rest assured I have the conviction to do exactly that," Jess broke off momentarily, deliberately shifting her blades forwards before continuing, "but there is the matter you mentioned. That doesn't get you off the hook though. You see; I don't have to kill you to resolve this situation. All it would take," Jess elaborated,"is one touch of my weapon- a single graze, a single cut. That wouldn't kill you, but it<span style="font-style: italic">would</span>send you-screaming and burning most likely- back to whatever recess of Hell you crawled out of, without ending even a<span style="font-style: italic">single one</span>of your victims. I know for certain you've no desire to return there, for the simple reason that the one thing every Lurker I've ever dispatched has had in common is a desire to remain here; where life is so much more fun for them".<br/><br/>Jess again gave the final statement extra emphasis by allowing it to hang in the air in the silence that followed the pronouncement, before again speaking. "Perhaps," she said, "you'd gain sufficent strength to make the crossing back to this world; perhaps you'd even gain it more rapidly than at first thanks to all those hooks you have in the hearts and souls of mortal people. But understand this," she said, making sure there was no misunderstanding the next statement, "no Lurker ever goes unobserved, netiher does the work they do. You and your work are no exception. Perhaps you might do well to consider Julien, how many of your hooks might already be corroded, how many of those 'cords of sin' frayed? And while you're at it consider this: How much more of your work do you think could be undone, and how much more rapidly, if you were once again restricted to working remotely from Hell?"