Title: Black Lightning
Author: Jyira Keller
Email: jyira@yahoo.co.uk
Spoilers: General Night World
Disclaimer: All Night World ideas and characters belong to LJS, Susan Black Lightning, Blake Redfern, Josh Deaver, Aria and Adrian belong to me. Please ask if you want to use them.
Ratings: PG
Parts:
Summary: discovery of fourth wild power - with a twist. Not as predictable as you might think.
Prologue
She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her hair was like a black waterfall, rippling down her slender back. Her eyes were the colour the sky at twilight with silver specks like starlight. Her features were exquisite, her mouth soft and inviting.
She was dancing with her friends. They were pretty, but not as stunning as her. He wanted her. He had to have her.
He could feel his long canine teeth lengthening at the thought. As soon as she was alone...
* * *
A cold wind blew over the stunted grass as Susan walked in the cemetery. She'd been restless all night, and felt a compulsion to go out for a walk. She knew it was dangerous to go out alone at night, especially in L.A. She didn't care.
Something was bothering her and she needed the crisp cool air to clear her head. She couldn't shake the feeling someone was following her, watching her. It was creepy. But why should that bother her?
Susan Black-Lighting was used to people staring at her. She was the most popular girl at El Camino High. She knew she was stunning, with her midnight hair and her twilight eyes. People said she looked dangerous. Scary. She reasoned that was because they were afraid of her or jealous. She was smart as well as beautiful and she knew every boy wanted her. So she was used to stares.
Why was this feeling bothered her? She didn't know. She knelt down in front of the grave she was visiting and placed down a long red rose on the grave.
"Hey Alyssa," she whispered. The dead girl had been her best friend for years. Alyssa had died a few weeks ago. Susan still missed her.
She heard the footsteps behind her. She stood up. Who else could be walking in a graveyard at this time of night?
"Who's there?" she called.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," a deep voice said. A man stepped out of the shadows. He seemed in his mid twenties. He was tall, dressed in black with dark hair and the most unusual eyes Susan had ever seen. They seemed to shift colour from moment to moment. Now orange, now glacier green, now violet, now blue.
"It takes a lot to scare me," Susan said flatly. She had a reputation for being brave. She hated anyone bruising her ego.
The guy looked down at the grave she was visiting. "Who was she?" he asked.
"My best friend. She died recently," Susan said softly.
"That's a shame," the guy said sympathetically. "I lost someone close to me not so long ago."
Something about this guy disturbed her, but she didn't know what. She told herself she was probably tired and upset and was only imagining things. She could feel tears welling in her eyes as she thought of Alyssa. How full of life and how happy she had always been. They had been so close. Alyssa was the one she could always rely on, always talk to, tell her secrets to. They'd been best friends for years and years. It was still so hard to believe she was gone.
The guy was still standing there, staring at her. Susan made a mistake. She met his eyes directly. But at the time she didn't realise the mistake. They were hypnotic, compelling, drawing her to him. "You didn't tell me your name," she said. "I'm Susan."
"My name is Blake," he said slowly. Suddenly Susan's tears over flowed. Blake had been Alyssa's surname.
Blake put his arms around her and held her close, comforting her. Susan didn't notice him brush the hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck.
She gasped with shock as she felt something sharp pierce her flesh. She tried to scream but Blake kept her face pressed against his shoulder to muffle her voice. The pain was unique. She'd never felt anything like it before. The pain grew unbearable. She realised she must be dying. At least, she thought, if she died the pain would stop. When Blake pulled back Susan tried to run, but she was kitten weak and couldn't move, and couldn't pull out of Blake's hold on her.
She opened her mouth, gasping for air, when Blake pressed his arm against it. Something warm and exotic tasting fell down her throat. She found herself swallowing the strange tasting liquid because she had enough survival instinct to know she didn't want to drown in it. She found herself still in dying agony. Blackness was closing in. She almost sighed with relief. She would be dead soon.
Susan didn't know she wasn't going to stay dead.
* * *
When Susan awoke she was lying on something soft. Satiny. She winced when she saw the bright light of a flashlight. She heard noises, like moths and scurrying of animals. She'd never heard anything like it. The sky seemed huge overhead, the full moon so bright it made her think of infinite space and distance.
She felt light and airy, as if she could run for miles and miles and never get tired. She sat up and looked around. She was lying in a coffin. In a grave. She frowned and stood up. Why should she be lying in a coffin? And why did she feel so hungry she was having trouble breathing?
She pulled herself out the grave and looked around the cemetery. Odd. Why was she in a cemetery?
Susan turned and saw the man staring at her. She saw the veins in his throat clearly. Slowly she walked towards him. The man was staring at her, seeming to be frozen in horror.
With hands as strong as steel she grabbed his arms and felt her canine teeth extend to delicate points as she sank them into his neck. She could feel the pulsing of his heart as it shot the warm, life giving blood into her mouth and she drank deeply. She felt the pounding of his heart stop. She remembered something from a vampire movie she'd seen, someone had said vampires shouldn't drink dead blood and if this guy's heart wasn't pounding anymore then he was dead, right? So she'd better stop drinking.
Susan pulled back and pushing the body over, staring at it. He's dead, she thought. I killed him. I'm a *vampire*? But how is that possible? Vampires aren't real! Wait. That guy. Blake. He bit me. I remember now.
She glanced around quickly. She couldn't see him, but somehow she knew he was the one who had come and dug her up. She fled. The last thing she wanted was for him to find her.
She realised then she didn't know where to go or what to do. Presumably everyone assumed she was dead. She'd been buried. How long had she been buried, she wondered.
She glanced down at her hand and saw a ring on the third finger of her right hand. A gold band with a black design. A black rose entwined with a black iris and a black dahlia. Black flowers? They looked like symbols of some kind.
Now what? she thought as she wandered around in a daze. I can't go home. Or to see my friends. They'll freak. What am I going to do?
She found she had wandered to one of the bad parts of town. She saw a door by a run down building with a spray painted black iris on the door like the one on her ring.
Impulsively she knocked on the door. It opened an inch and a skinny guy with beady unfriendly eyes looked out. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded.
"I want in. It's cold and I'm hungry." The boy was eyeing her, seeming stunned. She showed him her ring. "There's an iris on the door like this one."
"Okay. Come on in. I thought you might be vermin, but you're way too beautiful." He looked her up and down.
Susan glared at him and flashed her new fangs, which she guessed were still covered in blood. "Don't get your hopes up," she said brushing past him as he stepped back, cringing.
She heard music coming from somewhere below her. She spotted a dark staircase and followed it to what looked like a club of some sort. She found she could see perfectly despite the fact that there were no lights.
The people there were all surprisingly good looking and young, all teenagers. Several people smiled approvingly at her as she passed on her way to the bar. The girl behind the bar was tall with shoulder length shining red hair. She was dressed in a tight black top with silver decoration and black leather trousers.
"You're new," she said. "I'm Aria."
"Susan. And I'm kind of lost and confused. You're probably going to think I'm nuts but I met this guy called Blake in the cemetery when I was visiting my friend's grave. I think he must have been a vampire because he bit me and forced me to drink his blood and I passed out and when I woke up I was in a coffin and hungry and I pulled myself out and I saw the veins in this guy's throat so I bit him and I think I killed him."
Aria laughed. "You're a fast learner. Blake? Blake Redfern?"
"You've heard of him? I'm not crazy?"
"No. Blake's the head of the Night World council. He took over from Hunter Redfern 'cause he got blasted by blue fire."
"Who? What's the Night World? What's blue fire? I'm lost." Susan looked totally bewildered. She suddenly noticed that Aria looked suspicious.
"How did you find this place if you don't know about the Night World? The penalty for human vermin stumbling on our secrets is death, you know."
"I don't think I'm human. See?" Susan showed her fangs. She showed Aria the ring. "This was on my hand when I woke up. I guess I panicked and wandered round in a daze. I saw the black iris on the door outside and saw it was like my ring. I showed it to the geeky looking guy at the door and he let me in."
"Ignore him. He's only a stupid werewolf."
Susan stared. Werewolves? she thought. Vampires? Night World? And that guy who changed me's obviously well known to these people. "I've got no idea what's happening to me and why. All I *do* know is I definitely don't want this Blake guy to find me. I don't even know why he picked me. I liked my life. I was pretty and popular and always had everything I wanted. This bastard's gone and turned my life upside down."
"I guess you need somewhere to stay huh? All right. I don't usually help out strangers, but I guess you can come stay with me and my boyfriend. We'll show you the ropes, and tell you everything." Aria turned to someone on her left. "Hey Pete, I'm taking off, okay?"
She came out from behind the bar carrying a jacket and her purse. She led Susan out the club and back upstairs. The geeky looking guy still couldn't seem to take his eyes off Susan as she passed. Susan did as Aria had recommended and ignored him.
She followed Aria through the quiet streets of down town L.A. to an apartment building. She led Susan upstairs to a door with number 13 on it. Susan smiled faintly. Inside a boy and another girl sat watching TV. Incense was burning and the lamps were low and had blue bulbs, giving the place an eerie look. Susan caught sight of her reflection on a mirror hanging on the wall above the couch. She found herself fascinated with it. If it was possible, she was even more beautiful than she had been. Her skin was creamy pale and smooth and perfect. Her lips were fuller and darker and her eyes were glittering. Her features looked more elfin and graceful. When she opened her mouth to show her new teeth her eyes became even more silvery.
"Who's this?" the boy was asking with interest. Susan turned to him. He was good looking with silvery blond hair and blue eyes. "Hi," he said. "I'm Adrian."
"This is Susan," Aria said. "She's a vampire made by Blake Redfern."
The other girl's eyebrows shot up. "Wow," she said. "Lucky you! He's gorgeous!"
Susan scowled. "I hate him. He's all yours if you're interested."
The girl sighed. "Don't I wish! But I'm only a shapeshifter. I don't think he'd be very interested in me. I'm Sekhment."
"That's unusual," Susan said. "It sounds Egyptian."
"It's the Egyptian Lion-Headed goddess of death. I'm a lion when I'm in animal form."
"So how'd you get Mr. Big Shot to change you?" Adrian asked, still looking fascinated.
Susan shrugged. "I don't know. I was walking in the cemetery visiting the grave of a friend of mine and he showed up. He had the weirdest eyes and when I looked into them I couldn't move. He must have hypnotised me. Anyway, when I woke up I was in a coffin and someone had dug up the grave. I got out and saw this guy staring at me, and I think I killed him. I freaked and ran and stumbled on that club." She showed them her ring. "I got in when I showed the werewolf at the door this. I met Aria at the bar and she said she'd show me the ropes and how to fit in and all." Susan sat down in a black arm chair and waited expectantly. She noticed Aria and Adrian looking at each other, seeming to have some sort of unspoken conversation. Sekhment was looking at them too, with a slight frown on her face. Susan wondered what was going on. She got the impression that they were talking about her and she didn't like it. She could even pick up words they were saying. But they weren't talking out loud. She could read *minds*? Cool.
Finally Aria sat down next to Adrian. "Okay. I guess the first thing we should tell you about is the Night World," she said. "It's a secret society of vampires, witches and werewolves. All kinds of Night People, the one's you've been taught to think of as legend. We're all real. Me and Aid are vampires, as you already know Sekhment's a shapeshifter."
"You mentioned something called blue fire. What's that?"
"It's kind of hard to explain," Aria said with a frown. "As you know, the millennium's coming. There are certain prophecies that tell about the end of the world and four people who can save it."
"Of course, we vampires don't *want* them to save the human vermin," Adrian put in. "When the time of darkness is over *we'll* be in charge. You know, if you suck up to Blake Redfern, you can get us a place on the new Council."
"Prophecies like...?" Susan asked, ignoring him.
Aria sighed and recited, "'In blood, the final price is paid,/ In blue fire the final darkness is banished.'"
"What does that mean? The blue fire's going to kill every Night Person?" Susan asked.
"We don't exactly know, because not all the Night People are evil," Sekhment explained. "The witches aren't evil. They've seceded from the Night World. They want to save the humans. Well, some of the darkest Circle Midnight witches have stayed with us."
Susan nodded slowly. It was a lot to take in. But somewhere, deep down inside she'd known she was always better than most people. She was prettier, smarter and now she was powerful. Humans were the enemy. She knew how her old friends would react if they found out about her. She wasn't human anymore, so there was no need for her to reflect on her old life. She would start a new one. She would be beautiful and deadly. And all those people who said she looked scary, who were afraid of her...she would give them a reason to be.
* * *
Author: Jyira Keller
Email: jyira@yahoo.co.uk
Spoilers: General Night World
Disclaimer: All Night World ideas and characters belong to LJS, Susan Black Lightning, Blake Redfern, Josh Deaver, Aria and Adrian belong to me. Please ask if you want to use them.
Ratings: PG
Parts:
Summary: discovery of fourth wild power - with a twist. Not as predictable as you might think.
Prologue
She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her hair was like a black waterfall, rippling down her slender back. Her eyes were the colour the sky at twilight with silver specks like starlight. Her features were exquisite, her mouth soft and inviting.
She was dancing with her friends. They were pretty, but not as stunning as her. He wanted her. He had to have her.
He could feel his long canine teeth lengthening at the thought. As soon as she was alone...
* * *
A cold wind blew over the stunted grass as Susan walked in the cemetery. She'd been restless all night, and felt a compulsion to go out for a walk. She knew it was dangerous to go out alone at night, especially in L.A. She didn't care.
Something was bothering her and she needed the crisp cool air to clear her head. She couldn't shake the feeling someone was following her, watching her. It was creepy. But why should that bother her?
Susan Black-Lighting was used to people staring at her. She was the most popular girl at El Camino High. She knew she was stunning, with her midnight hair and her twilight eyes. People said she looked dangerous. Scary. She reasoned that was because they were afraid of her or jealous. She was smart as well as beautiful and she knew every boy wanted her. So she was used to stares.
Why was this feeling bothered her? She didn't know. She knelt down in front of the grave she was visiting and placed down a long red rose on the grave.
"Hey Alyssa," she whispered. The dead girl had been her best friend for years. Alyssa had died a few weeks ago. Susan still missed her.
She heard the footsteps behind her. She stood up. Who else could be walking in a graveyard at this time of night?
"Who's there?" she called.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," a deep voice said. A man stepped out of the shadows. He seemed in his mid twenties. He was tall, dressed in black with dark hair and the most unusual eyes Susan had ever seen. They seemed to shift colour from moment to moment. Now orange, now glacier green, now violet, now blue.
"It takes a lot to scare me," Susan said flatly. She had a reputation for being brave. She hated anyone bruising her ego.
The guy looked down at the grave she was visiting. "Who was she?" he asked.
"My best friend. She died recently," Susan said softly.
"That's a shame," the guy said sympathetically. "I lost someone close to me not so long ago."
Something about this guy disturbed her, but she didn't know what. She told herself she was probably tired and upset and was only imagining things. She could feel tears welling in her eyes as she thought of Alyssa. How full of life and how happy she had always been. They had been so close. Alyssa was the one she could always rely on, always talk to, tell her secrets to. They'd been best friends for years and years. It was still so hard to believe she was gone.
The guy was still standing there, staring at her. Susan made a mistake. She met his eyes directly. But at the time she didn't realise the mistake. They were hypnotic, compelling, drawing her to him. "You didn't tell me your name," she said. "I'm Susan."
"My name is Blake," he said slowly. Suddenly Susan's tears over flowed. Blake had been Alyssa's surname.
Blake put his arms around her and held her close, comforting her. Susan didn't notice him brush the hair off her shoulder, exposing her neck.
She gasped with shock as she felt something sharp pierce her flesh. She tried to scream but Blake kept her face pressed against his shoulder to muffle her voice. The pain was unique. She'd never felt anything like it before. The pain grew unbearable. She realised she must be dying. At least, she thought, if she died the pain would stop. When Blake pulled back Susan tried to run, but she was kitten weak and couldn't move, and couldn't pull out of Blake's hold on her.
She opened her mouth, gasping for air, when Blake pressed his arm against it. Something warm and exotic tasting fell down her throat. She found herself swallowing the strange tasting liquid because she had enough survival instinct to know she didn't want to drown in it. She found herself still in dying agony. Blackness was closing in. She almost sighed with relief. She would be dead soon.
Susan didn't know she wasn't going to stay dead.
* * *
When Susan awoke she was lying on something soft. Satiny. She winced when she saw the bright light of a flashlight. She heard noises, like moths and scurrying of animals. She'd never heard anything like it. The sky seemed huge overhead, the full moon so bright it made her think of infinite space and distance.
She felt light and airy, as if she could run for miles and miles and never get tired. She sat up and looked around. She was lying in a coffin. In a grave. She frowned and stood up. Why should she be lying in a coffin? And why did she feel so hungry she was having trouble breathing?
She pulled herself out the grave and looked around the cemetery. Odd. Why was she in a cemetery?
Susan turned and saw the man staring at her. She saw the veins in his throat clearly. Slowly she walked towards him. The man was staring at her, seeming to be frozen in horror.
With hands as strong as steel she grabbed his arms and felt her canine teeth extend to delicate points as she sank them into his neck. She could feel the pulsing of his heart as it shot the warm, life giving blood into her mouth and she drank deeply. She felt the pounding of his heart stop. She remembered something from a vampire movie she'd seen, someone had said vampires shouldn't drink dead blood and if this guy's heart wasn't pounding anymore then he was dead, right? So she'd better stop drinking.
Susan pulled back and pushing the body over, staring at it. He's dead, she thought. I killed him. I'm a *vampire*? But how is that possible? Vampires aren't real! Wait. That guy. Blake. He bit me. I remember now.
She glanced around quickly. She couldn't see him, but somehow she knew he was the one who had come and dug her up. She fled. The last thing she wanted was for him to find her.
She realised then she didn't know where to go or what to do. Presumably everyone assumed she was dead. She'd been buried. How long had she been buried, she wondered.
She glanced down at her hand and saw a ring on the third finger of her right hand. A gold band with a black design. A black rose entwined with a black iris and a black dahlia. Black flowers? They looked like symbols of some kind.
Now what? she thought as she wandered around in a daze. I can't go home. Or to see my friends. They'll freak. What am I going to do?
She found she had wandered to one of the bad parts of town. She saw a door by a run down building with a spray painted black iris on the door like the one on her ring.
Impulsively she knocked on the door. It opened an inch and a skinny guy with beady unfriendly eyes looked out. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded.
"I want in. It's cold and I'm hungry." The boy was eyeing her, seeming stunned. She showed him her ring. "There's an iris on the door like this one."
"Okay. Come on in. I thought you might be vermin, but you're way too beautiful." He looked her up and down.
Susan glared at him and flashed her new fangs, which she guessed were still covered in blood. "Don't get your hopes up," she said brushing past him as he stepped back, cringing.
She heard music coming from somewhere below her. She spotted a dark staircase and followed it to what looked like a club of some sort. She found she could see perfectly despite the fact that there were no lights.
The people there were all surprisingly good looking and young, all teenagers. Several people smiled approvingly at her as she passed on her way to the bar. The girl behind the bar was tall with shoulder length shining red hair. She was dressed in a tight black top with silver decoration and black leather trousers.
"You're new," she said. "I'm Aria."
"Susan. And I'm kind of lost and confused. You're probably going to think I'm nuts but I met this guy called Blake in the cemetery when I was visiting my friend's grave. I think he must have been a vampire because he bit me and forced me to drink his blood and I passed out and when I woke up I was in a coffin and hungry and I pulled myself out and I saw the veins in this guy's throat so I bit him and I think I killed him."
Aria laughed. "You're a fast learner. Blake? Blake Redfern?"
"You've heard of him? I'm not crazy?"
"No. Blake's the head of the Night World council. He took over from Hunter Redfern 'cause he got blasted by blue fire."
"Who? What's the Night World? What's blue fire? I'm lost." Susan looked totally bewildered. She suddenly noticed that Aria looked suspicious.
"How did you find this place if you don't know about the Night World? The penalty for human vermin stumbling on our secrets is death, you know."
"I don't think I'm human. See?" Susan showed her fangs. She showed Aria the ring. "This was on my hand when I woke up. I guess I panicked and wandered round in a daze. I saw the black iris on the door outside and saw it was like my ring. I showed it to the geeky looking guy at the door and he let me in."
"Ignore him. He's only a stupid werewolf."
Susan stared. Werewolves? she thought. Vampires? Night World? And that guy who changed me's obviously well known to these people. "I've got no idea what's happening to me and why. All I *do* know is I definitely don't want this Blake guy to find me. I don't even know why he picked me. I liked my life. I was pretty and popular and always had everything I wanted. This bastard's gone and turned my life upside down."
"I guess you need somewhere to stay huh? All right. I don't usually help out strangers, but I guess you can come stay with me and my boyfriend. We'll show you the ropes, and tell you everything." Aria turned to someone on her left. "Hey Pete, I'm taking off, okay?"
She came out from behind the bar carrying a jacket and her purse. She led Susan out the club and back upstairs. The geeky looking guy still couldn't seem to take his eyes off Susan as she passed. Susan did as Aria had recommended and ignored him.
She followed Aria through the quiet streets of down town L.A. to an apartment building. She led Susan upstairs to a door with number 13 on it. Susan smiled faintly. Inside a boy and another girl sat watching TV. Incense was burning and the lamps were low and had blue bulbs, giving the place an eerie look. Susan caught sight of her reflection on a mirror hanging on the wall above the couch. She found herself fascinated with it. If it was possible, she was even more beautiful than she had been. Her skin was creamy pale and smooth and perfect. Her lips were fuller and darker and her eyes were glittering. Her features looked more elfin and graceful. When she opened her mouth to show her new teeth her eyes became even more silvery.
"Who's this?" the boy was asking with interest. Susan turned to him. He was good looking with silvery blond hair and blue eyes. "Hi," he said. "I'm Adrian."
"This is Susan," Aria said. "She's a vampire made by Blake Redfern."
The other girl's eyebrows shot up. "Wow," she said. "Lucky you! He's gorgeous!"
Susan scowled. "I hate him. He's all yours if you're interested."
The girl sighed. "Don't I wish! But I'm only a shapeshifter. I don't think he'd be very interested in me. I'm Sekhment."
"That's unusual," Susan said. "It sounds Egyptian."
"It's the Egyptian Lion-Headed goddess of death. I'm a lion when I'm in animal form."
"So how'd you get Mr. Big Shot to change you?" Adrian asked, still looking fascinated.
Susan shrugged. "I don't know. I was walking in the cemetery visiting the grave of a friend of mine and he showed up. He had the weirdest eyes and when I looked into them I couldn't move. He must have hypnotised me. Anyway, when I woke up I was in a coffin and someone had dug up the grave. I got out and saw this guy staring at me, and I think I killed him. I freaked and ran and stumbled on that club." She showed them her ring. "I got in when I showed the werewolf at the door this. I met Aria at the bar and she said she'd show me the ropes and how to fit in and all." Susan sat down in a black arm chair and waited expectantly. She noticed Aria and Adrian looking at each other, seeming to have some sort of unspoken conversation. Sekhment was looking at them too, with a slight frown on her face. Susan wondered what was going on. She got the impression that they were talking about her and she didn't like it. She could even pick up words they were saying. But they weren't talking out loud. She could read *minds*? Cool.
Finally Aria sat down next to Adrian. "Okay. I guess the first thing we should tell you about is the Night World," she said. "It's a secret society of vampires, witches and werewolves. All kinds of Night People, the one's you've been taught to think of as legend. We're all real. Me and Aid are vampires, as you already know Sekhment's a shapeshifter."
"You mentioned something called blue fire. What's that?"
"It's kind of hard to explain," Aria said with a frown. "As you know, the millennium's coming. There are certain prophecies that tell about the end of the world and four people who can save it."
"Of course, we vampires don't *want* them to save the human vermin," Adrian put in. "When the time of darkness is over *we'll* be in charge. You know, if you suck up to Blake Redfern, you can get us a place on the new Council."
"Prophecies like...?" Susan asked, ignoring him.
Aria sighed and recited, "'In blood, the final price is paid,/ In blue fire the final darkness is banished.'"
"What does that mean? The blue fire's going to kill every Night Person?" Susan asked.
"We don't exactly know, because not all the Night People are evil," Sekhment explained. "The witches aren't evil. They've seceded from the Night World. They want to save the humans. Well, some of the darkest Circle Midnight witches have stayed with us."
Susan nodded slowly. It was a lot to take in. But somewhere, deep down inside she'd known she was always better than most people. She was prettier, smarter and now she was powerful. Humans were the enemy. She knew how her old friends would react if they found out about her. She wasn't human anymore, so there was no need for her to reflect on her old life. She would start a new one. She would be beautiful and deadly. And all those people who said she looked scary, who were afraid of her...she would give them a reason to be.
* * *