A/N: as I haven't even read any LJS, I reserve the right to be totally utterly and completely wrong about everything I've written. And yes, I've made a helva lot of it up.
p.s. this is set a few years before the millennium (I think) - as in I haven't really decided yet, but it doesn't have that much effect on the story in any case...
The boy was tall for his age, well muscled and had a walk that indicated perfect balance to the trained eye. Power emanated from him in waves crashing on the surrounding crowd, causing girls to swoon and guys to scowl. Of course, they wouldn't dare touch this one - some idiot had tried once; they *think* that single hair lying in the coffin was his...
None of the crowd's reactions registered with him though. They were less than bugs - why should he worry about them? But that girl - the new one - she was interesting. She was different. For starters, when the 'in' crowd had made it blatantly obvious they'd sized her up and found her wanting, she simply walked off with a raised eyebrow and bemused expression. Ever since then she'd sat alone seemingly relishing the solitude. Definitely weird. Plus her eyes - he'd never seen anything like them and he'd seen some *strange* stuff. It wasn't just that they seemed to look straight through everyone - to their very soul - or that there was unfathomable power behind her stare, or even that she seemed able to see things from miles away. No, what intrigued the boy most was the colour. A confusing mixture of brown, blue, green, silver, gold, black, purple ... in fact those eyes held every colour imaginable in a dizzying -and more importantly *moving* - myriad of hues.
He'd almost say she was Nightworld, but thanks to some witch ancestors this vampire could see auras, and hers wasn't Nightworld. But then it wasn't human either.
The boy with the untouchable ice eyes headed for the loner sitting under a tree, determined to ask her exactly who, *what* she was. Only a vicelike grip on the collar of his shirt - his very expensive *designer* shirt - prevented him. He whipped round prepared to squash whichever imbecile dared touch him into a neat little square centimetre package but stopped short when he realised just who the imbecile was.
***
Life in Vegas was so different. She'd been there five days and already discovered the people were closed and unfriendly, and they hated cyclists - an unforgivable crime in her opinion. Not like good ol' Oz. Sure you'd almost get killed every five minutes on the road, but at least they didn't swerve in order to *hit* you and yell obscenities as they drove past. ~Which is another thing: some of the people are *weird* Not your average insanity, I'm talking psychopathic knife-swallowing voodoo-practicing Hannibal-Lectre-eat-your-heart-out CRAZY son of a bitches. And where do they get off calling me vermin anyway?~
Lilli Volatis had been orphaned a week ago.... sort of. Her adoptive parents had died, leaving instructions for her to go to Vegas to locate her real family. Fine by her, except that they all appeared to be long dead save for crazy great-aunt Solaer Striga. Covered in charms and muttering about fulfilled prophesies whenever Lilli was around - definitely off her rocker. And why was she so interested in her eyes? ~Weird colours my ass! They look plain brown whenever *I* look in the mirror~
***
"Hello grandson. Miss me?" The stranger looked the spitting image of the boy - albeit a more hardened, worldly image.
Zane Venari really didn't like his 2000-year-old many-times-removed grandfather. No, not at all. Nefarius Venari was what he termed evil incarnate - someone the devil himself would run from with his tail between his legs. And for a vampire to think that....
Ice blue eyes hardened. "Not dead yet? And I had your headstone all carved and everything. What a pity."
Lips curled in what Zane supposed was meant to be a smile.
"What does it say?"
"Thank the goddess."
Another misshapen smile sent waves of revulsion down the younger man's back. That glare could turn volcanoes into glaciers.
"How lovely. Now we've got the niceties over boy, you and I need to talk. Now. Alone."
"I'd really love to an' all," Zane drawled, "but I've got class - you wouldn't want your beloved grandson to miss a vital part of his education would you? Cos I mean --"
"Oh do shut up." This last was said as Nefarius slung the now unconscious boy over his shoulder and headed out of the school grounds (through a brick wall and a very shocked security guard) and down a nearby alley.
"Now, boy, you will listen." He lifted the mind block but kept it so that Zane was unable to speak. With over two millennia of practice, coercion came easy.
***
~OK, so that's not right~ Lilli thought, in relation to the fact that a strange guy had just carried the most sought-after boy in the school out of the grounds, *through* a ten metre high half a metre thick brick wall, not to mention one now very dead security guard. And by the reactions of everyone around her, she was the only one who seemed to care. ~What is it with these people? Ah well, may as well follow 'em~
Hiding in a rotten doorway the curious girl listened to a gravelly voice grind out orders; a voice that spoke of fire frozen mid-blaze, a chilly tableau of mountains, rivers, plains; all ice. A voice that was somehow pure evil and loving every minute of it.
"I *told* you not to get involved. I remember quite clearly stating that if you even considered for a second growing a brain and trying to thwart my plans your life would be made, let us say *difficult*, due to the fact that I would be feasting one by one on each and every internal organ in that pitiful little body of yours. Now it seems I might have to carry out my threat. What a pity."
The speaker wasn't facing her but Lilli could clearly see the boy, with his ice-blue eyes and platinum hair. For a second, as his eyes locked on to hers, she saw fear, saw hopelessness in those twin waterfalls and something, something so deep within her she hadn't know it existed, recognised him. It was as though it said 'him! look after that one, he's important'. She had no choice but to obey.
"What, precisely, do you think you're doing? Besides running for the most-insane-creature-in-the-world award." ~What am I doing? He'll kill me!~ The boy's eyes seemed to be asking the same question. ~Oh well~ she thought ~there's nothing for it now~
"Cos you know, I kinda like his organs right where they are thanks very much. And I think he might too."
Slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, the creature tuned around. "Look, skippy," a feral glint in his eye - and were they fangs?! "Be that as it may, frankly, I don't care." The grin widened. "Run girlie. It'll be a lot more fun that way."
Fear gripped her so hard she thought she might choke. What he said sounded like a very nice idea - the running bit. The bit about 'fun' she didn't want to think about.
"Wh-what's your name?" That was the boy.
His ancestor looked at him with disgust. "What does it matter what her name is? Stupid boy! Although 'lunch' sounds rather appropriate, don't you think?"
Fear widened her eyes to saucers, and that made the monster's eyes widen. Recognition flashed. ~Oh. Shit.~ was all he had time to think, because something in the girl just snapped, sending rays of pure undiluted fury rampaging through the alley.
White. Nothing but white. Then red as feeling kicked back in and along with it pain; unbearable pain.
Nefarius Venari peeled himself from the wall to which he had been plastered, took one look at the prone form of the girl - which was glowing - and ran faster than humanly possible in the opposite direction.
~So it's back. Oh, bloody hell~
***
"*What* just happened?" A groan to her left woke the girl. Then a yelp made her sit bolt upright.
"What? You're looking at me like I'm a ghost or something - really, I'm oh." He was pointing at her. She looked in the direction of his eyes. She glowed. Bright red. Blood red. "Oh. Oh dear." She glanced at the boy's face and showed a look of dismay that would have been comical in other circumstances, when his face drained completely of colour.
"W-wh-what is it?"
"Your eyes. They're *silver*. And your p-pupils are *red*."
Deep in that dark hollow of her mind - the bit that had remembered the boy - something stirred, rolled over as if in sleep, and woke. She fainted.
~Why aren't I running?~ thought Zane as he looked on with morbid curiosity as the girl slowly began pulsing with that unholy light, until she was so bright it was blinding to look at her. Leaning forward he brushed a stray strand of chocolate-brown hair from her face. ~Hmm. Pretty. Wonder what her name -what the?! ~ pictures sprang into his head. Dark pictures. Ancient pictures. He was thrown forward till he stood in the vision watching in horror as the scenes played out before him.
Death. Everywhere - in the faces of the screaming hoards of people; in the still forms of those already gone; in the faces of the dragons at the centre. ~Dragons?~ Yes, those were definitely dragons standing there looking mortified, defeat shining from their eyes. ~Defeat? Dragons? That's not right! And where *is*this?~ That was when he spied the - thing - circling the skies above. It was monstrous - all fangs and claws and, and *appendages*. Heads, arms, legs, tails and things he didn't dare think about burst from the creature, yet still somehow it managed to look sleek - predatory. Deadly.
That was certain. This creature meant death - compassion not applicable. ~What is it?~
~Ferultorvis~ Zane whipped around at the ghostly whisper and saw the girl from the alley standing beside him. ~Its name's Ferultovis~ Looking into his face, ~It's me~
He was about to say something to the effect of 'what the *%$&!?' only Lilli's eyes rolled up in her head and both were thrown headlong up into the real world.
"What d'ya mean 'it's me'? That....*thing* ?" The girl had stopped glowing now - in fact she looked a decided shade of green at the moment.
"What're you talking about? What thing? What just happened?"
"What are *you* talking about? We just got thrown into your mind to see some ravaging monster getting the best of dragons - I repeat *dragons* - and you pretend like nothing happened? What's wrong with you?"
"B- b- but that...... hallu- hallucination, yes yes that's right. Can't be real j-just can't - no, not real been drinking too much coffee that's it.... I don't drink coffee.... do I?" She was waving her head around frantically, obviously going hysterical and looking for an escape rout.
"Don't ask me. All's I know is that a moment ago you were blasting us into walls and glowing red an' all." ~Now you're just having a mental breakdown. That I can handle~
~HEY!~ He shouted into her mind, overriding a confused jumble of mindless babbling. ~Hello in there, anyone home? Guess what: *it was real*. Well real in that I saw it too leastways~ Not that that's saying much, he thought wryly.
Brown head turned and looked with eyes at were a deep shade of blue speckled with green, seemingly begging the boy to take back his words. "It *can't* be true. Those types of things don't exist!"
Snort. "Sorry to tell ya girlie," he drawled, "but magic, dragons," a feral grin, "vampires, *do* exist. And you're about as magic as they come, though exactly what you are I have no idea. Look, do you have any idea what the Nightworld is?"
A shake of the head.
"Oh great. I just *had* to land the job of telling one of the strangest - creatures - I've ever met that there's things other than humans in this world and she's one of 'em." Lifting eyes heavenward, "Why me?"
***
"So, how'd'ya feel now that you've discovered, drumroll please, THE TRUTH?" They were sitting in the lounge room of Lilli's aunt's house, having decided they deserved the rest of the day off. Looking at the boy, Lilli decided he somehow looked wrong in this setting - more like he should be prowling dark forests in some horror story from the middle ages. ~probably not far from the truth there~
She didn't realise anything was wrong till a pillow hit her square in the face. "I am not that old!" came the indignant reply. That was when she remembered Zane's explanations of common nightworld powers, namely telepathy. She groaned.
"There's just too much to remember! I'm not a week in this godforsaken country and not only do I discover that things from fairy tales actually exist, but that I'm a -a -a *thing* that can blast vampires into walls and glow in the dark! What is it with this place?"
From the shadows a new voice replied. "I don't know - especially if it's influencing my niece to skip classes and bring home strange vampire boys." Nodding in Zane's direction, "I 'spose you're one of the Venari hoard. That ancestor of yours still meddling in things he'll never understand?"
"You mean Nefarius? Then yes." A quizzical look, "but I hope you don't let him hear you say that, else Lilli's gunna have no family left whatsoever."
The waif-like woman smiled. "He and I are sworn enemies - I've a license to insult him. And besides, I'm not Lilli's only living relative." She winked at the *very* shocked girl. "You've a younger sister dearie. And I don't see any water around so you can just stop with the codfish impression."
***
Deep in the vaults of the Venari estate one rather criminally insane vampire was hard at work, sifting through mountains of scrolls - most of which were in advanced stages of decomposition - searching for a spell. ~There has to be something that'll do it. But what can kill the spawn of gods?~
And somewhere something hidden, something *dark* smiled. "Ssssoon," the serpentine voice whispered round the world, and the world shivered.
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info on the names:
'ferultovis' is a slurring of some Latin words, 'fera' = wild beast, 'ultor' = avenger/ punisher, 'vis' = power
'Nefarius' is Latin for heinous or criminal (*not* 'cloudy', Kiana!)
if you wanna know the meaning of any other names, just ask and I'll put up the whole list...