A/N: Hey guys, I'm really new at this. This is my first fic ever. So any reviews/comments either positive or negative would be deeply appreciated. But most of all, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1 – Do Not Give In
San Francisco - 2000
She was only eleven years of age that day. That life-changing, terrifying, horrific day. A small girl, with a creamy porcelain pale complexion that was stark white with the terror that coursed through her small body, large mahogany brown eyes that were raw and red from the silent sobbing she swallowed as the three strangers ransacked her home, and long silky black hair, matted with sweat, blood and tears.
It had started out as a normal day. She had gone to school. She liked school. She revelled in the classroom, she enjoyed learning and gaining as much knowledge as she physically could. Her mother had waited outside the green school gates for her at three o'clock and when the school bell rang, she ran to the gate and leapt into her mother's car.
But as they drove home, she could sense an odd tension in the vehicle. She hadn't taken much notice of it then, but her mother looked extremely stressed. Her own black hair was unkempt and her brown eyes were glued to the road, not at all making eye contact with her young daughter.
"Mum, what's wrong?" she asked. As soon as her mother pulled the car into the driveway, she pulled her tiny daughter out, carrying her into the house and rushing her into the basement.
"Mica, honey, you have to promise me something." Her mother released her daughter onto the hard stone floor of the basement. She knelt down to her daughter's eye level and spoke as quickly, softly and earnestly as she possibly could. "You have to promise me that no matter what you hear or what you see, you must stay down here until it is safe. Do you understand me?"
Mica, even at the age of eleven, was an intelligent child, and she knew that her mother was very serious at that moment. "Yes," was all that Mica responded with.
"Always remember that I love you and no matter what, do not give in." Tears were now streaming heavily down her face. With fast fingers, she reached behind her neck and unclasped the necklace that she had possessed for decades. Opening her daughter's small hand, she dropped the locket gently onto her palm. "I love you."
"I love you, too, mum." Mica was now tearing up. Suddenly footsteps thundered on the floor above them.
"Okay, remember, stay in here until it's completely safe." Her mother said, standing up. "Don't ever give in." Mica nodded obediently and sat down on the floor between an old sofa and a huge wooden hope chest.
Her mother had rushed upstairs.
"Where is she, witch?" A loud male voice demanded.
"Leave. Now." came her mother's voice. A loud thump resonated through the walls and floors, followed by a scream. Clenching her fists, Mica squeezed her eyes shut as she heard a shriek and another thud. Hot tears sprung from her dark eyes as she mentally ordered herself not to run up to her mother in some vain attempt to protect her. But she had made a promise and if there was one thing that Mica stood by, it was her promises. Especially those she made to her mother.
Sobbing and choking, Mica's hearing tuned out of the noises above her. Pressing the heels of her palms against her temples, she tried to block out the pain and the terror that emanated from the floor above her.
Suddenly the noise stopped. "Cal, the girl isn't here!" A female voice announced. "We have to get going."
"I can smell her, she's here." Cal sneered back. "You can too, can't you?"
"Think, Calcite!" The girl responded. "She lives here; of course you can smell her here. We're going. Now." Footsteps stomped out of the house and Mica opened her mahogany eyes, not moving from her hiding place.
She sat there for what seemed like hours, and after a long while, she drifted into the realm of dreams.
"This is the house?" Quinn raised a dark eyebrow, gazing up at the huge house he, Jezebel Redfern and Thea Harman had been sent to investigate.
"Come on, quit whinging." Jez slid up the threshold, and carefully and silently tried the doorknob. Finding it locked, she stepped back and her silvery blue eyes studied the house.
"There." Quinn pointed out the balcony. His sharp black eyes noticed the balcony door unlocked.
"Jez, can you get it?" Thea asked. Jez shot her a look. Of course she can. Thea reprimanded herself. Jez swung a flexible, limber leg onto the hand railing of the front steps and reached up with her hands to the edge of the balcony flooring. She paused a second.
"Hmm, maybe she can't." Quinn mused quietly to Thea as the two stood at the end of the drive way, watching.
"I heard that." Jez hissed. She pulled herself up in a quick fluid motion and flipped over the balcony railing and landed smoothly onto the hard stone floor. She turned back to Quinn, raised an eyebrow and smirked confidently.
"Oh, stop gloating and get on with it." Quinn murmured. Jez entered the house and looked around. Everything seemed normal. Silently getting to the front door, she opened it and let Quinn and Thea in.
Quinn, being the team leader of this operation, delegated. "I'll check out upstairs, Jez, you search the ground floor, and Thea, try the basement." Jez nodded, silently racing into the dining room where she sensed and smelt something gone awry. Thea gave Quinn a quick smile, a look of understanding, as she stepped quickly down onto the basement steps.
As her foot connected with the third step of the rickety basement staircase, her heart and her head exploded in a whirlwind of emotion. Terror, pain, panic, heartache, grief, the worst of the worst. Thea's usually warm brown eyes were welling up from all the pain that was swimming in her mind. Sure, she was trained for the usual Circle Daybreak missions, but this was something no witch could handle. She pushed herself onwards, blocking out as much of the hurt as possible and reached the very end of the basement floor.
There sat a little girl. Ten, or maybe eleven. She had her hands clasped around her knees, hugging them to her chest. Thea dropped to her knees in front of the girl, but she flinched away. Waves and waves of fear hit Thea, nearly knocking her out. Wincing, Thea summoned all the warmth that she could feel in her own heart and sent as much comforting energy as she could to the poor child.
"Don't worry; I'm not there to hurt you." Thea said softly. She sent out a telepathic cry, summoning Quinn and Jez down to the basement. "My name is Thea." The girl seemed more soothed, but she didn't speak. Broken, lonely mahogany eyes gazed up at Thea.
"Harman, what'd you find?" Jez enquired as soon as she hit the basement floor from her ten foot jump from the top of the staircase. The little girl startled, pushing herself back up against the wall and clenching her fists tightly.
"She's bleeding." Quinn said, his eyes cold as he joined the three females in the basement. Thea looked down at the girl's hands. He was right. A gold chain dangled from her small hands, coppery blood tarnishing the necklace and dark red smearing her fingers.
"Oh goddess." Thea gasped. Sending out another soothing wave of energy, she reached her hand out. "Come with us. We can help you. We won't hurt you, I promise."
The girl frowned, staring up at Quinn and Jez with a look of accusation and suspicion. It was almost as if she knew that the two of them were different. "What's your name?" Thea asked.
She spoke for the first time, "Mica." Her voice was quiet, raspy from crying for however long it was that she had been in the basement.
"Mica." Quinn spoke, kneeling down next to Thea. "I promise you, what ever happened to your mother, we will help fix it. We will do everything in our power to make sure the people who hurt her will be brought to justice. We'll help you."
Mica's mahogany eyes flashed almost red. "They didn't hurt her." Jez, who was standing slightly apart from the young girl, frowned. This was a rather strange case indeed. She could feel, even though empathy was not a vampire's ability, Mica's strength. Yes, the girl was scared and hurt, but she was also strong and brave. "They killed her."
Thea nearly burst into tears. Her own voice became soft and almost husky with sorrow. "Mica, I swear to you, I will personally take care of you. I promise that nothing like this will ever happen to you or anyone you love ever again."
"There's no one else." Mica's young, but wise words echoed in the dark basement. Thea, Quinn and Jez all shared looks. The three of them, who had not been rather close through their entire time with Circle Daybreak, now had a bond. Their eyes held a silent pact to protect this young girl, no matter what the case. No matter what the danger.