all right. i had another feehan fanfic, but it sorta hit a brick wall in a very loud and horrid manner, so i decided to write a whole other story, using one of my original drafts...and, thankfully, this one turned out a bit better and easier than the last. so, i present Dark Charm to you all. i really hope you like it!


Chapter One

Avery Donovan gazed out of the window, a sigh welling up. As the breathy release escaped her lips, she turned away to glance about the inn's dining hall. After years of dreaming, she was finally here. The Carpathian Mountains. But now that she sat in a cozy inn nestled in a small village just brushing the feet of such looming giants, Avery didn't know what she wanted to do. She was here, but now what was she to do with the rest of her life?

She straightened. First, she would find herself a cottage, one in the middle of nowhere so that she could be alone with her books and her dreams. All she had now were dreams. Her hand came to rest on a small silver necklace. And a charm which seemed to have lost its magic.

Everything she had loved most in the world was gone and now nothing but emptiness filled her. Books and dreams now served as the only food for her mind when once she had stayed up all night, talking philosophy with her brother or squealing over pictures with her friends. It would make her sad... if she felt anything besides endless cold. Now all she wished for was solitude. She wished for an escape.

But this really was her fault, she knew. If it hadn't been for her, she wouldn't be alone. Her friends would be sitting beside her at that moment, talking and laughing with her. And her brother would be back home, eager to hear from his world-traveling sister. And, most of all, she wouldn't feel so cold, so empty.

At a nearby table, a couple settled down, looking every bit like they had just stepped from a classic black and white film. The man was remarkably handsome yet imposing, with slashing silver eyes. It was the woman, however, who drew Avery's attention. She was small and delicate, dark hair tumbling in waves around her shoulders. Violet eyes flashed brilliantly with barely disguised mischief, her laugh more beautiful than anything Avery had ever heard.

Another sigh tore from her and Avery stood, feeling the odd urge to get as far away from the couple as possible. Suddenly, the room began to spin violently and Avery saw the man's head snap towards her direction before her lungs seized and darkness took her.


"Avery, look at this!"

Avery shook her head at Eris and crossed the room. She bent down to look at the laptop screen, only to look away, giggling. "Eris!" she exclaimed, a little shocked.

"What? He's cute!"

She couldn't help it; Avery burst out laughing, taking another peek at the screen. "I suppose..."

"Oh yeah?" Eris asked. She grinned and then poked her friend. "Admit it; he's super-sexy." She gave Avery another poke.

"Okay, okay! I admit it!"

Eris sat back, smiling in triumph. "Victory is mine."

-------

Alaric glanced down at his younger sister, a smile in his warm brown eyes. "Can you flip through a dictionary and pinpoint the word which describes how you feel, what you see?" he asked. "It's impossible. The world is felt, and those feelings cannot be contained by a simple word or sentence. They stretch on forever."

Avery smiled sadly. "I wish I could be a painter, then," she whispered. "Or a composer, like Eris."

A gentle laugh escaped Alaric and he lifted her chin. "Ah, but words...words can do so much," he told her. "With but one word, you can evoke long-forgotten memories and bring forth lost emotions...just as easily as if you were a painter or a singer." He kissed her on the forehead. "Besides, you sing beautifully and your writing is simply awe-inspiring. I don't know what the world would do if you were capable of everything."

Tears lit Avery's clear gray eyes and she hugged her older brother. "I love you," she whispered.

"Love you too, elf-girl."

-------

Fire, everywhere. Avery woke screaming, beating out flames that weren't there. But the burning wouldn't stop it expanded from her center until even the air rippled in unease. Electricity crackled around her and then everything went cold as screams tore into the night.


Avery woke with a groan, feeling as if a herd of irate zebras had danced in her head. She tried to sit up but ended up falling back to the bed, wincing as pain tore through her lungs. A familiar burning sensation spread through her but she tamped it down, unwilling to open doors best remained closed.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and Avery launched herself into a sitting position, gritting her teeth against the pain which blossomed in her sides. Physical pain she could handle; it kept her anchored to the world. It was the endless darkness and apathy which threatened to drive her to insanity.

She was back in her room, tucked into bed like a treasured child. Avery wiped her mind clean at the thought, not wanting to think of her brother. What was most important was how she got back upstairs. Had Slavica asked someone to help her?

Avery pressed a hand gingerly against her head, trying to remember the events leading up to her passing out. She frowned, recalling a subtle pressure in her head just seconds before the world decided to spin madly out of control. Like someone had tried to get in, she thought vaguely.

Shaking the thought from her head, Avery pushed the blankets off, only to still. She whipped her head to the side, sensing someone else in nearby. "Who's there?" she asked.

The door to her room opened and the woman from the dining hall poked her head in, violet eyes concerned. "Are you all right?" she asked softly.

Avery's eyes widened and she pressed against the headboard, acutely aware that something was different about the woman now entering her room. It wasn't as if the woman were dangerous...there was simply something different about her. Maybe it was the way she was too beautiful for or the way she seemed to float into the room, despite her obvious pregnancy.

"Who are you?" Avery demanded, readying her unpredictable well of power.

Savannah frowned as she felt the swell of energy in the room. Gregori, she called silently, could you come in here?

Before she even completed her request, Gregori had inserted himself in front of his lifemate, silver eyes flashing at the young woman on the bed. He watched her warily as she pressed herself further against the headboard. She was small and pale, dark hair curling around her face. She looked entirely too frail but the magic which surged from her was anything but weak.

Gregori frowned, subtly moving closer. He stopped, however, as the young woman scrambled off the bed and into a corner. He frowned. Though he couldn't reach into her mind, she seemed to be more afraid of herself than of him.

After a moment, he held out his hands in a gesture of peace. "I am Gregori," he told her, his voice gentle and smooth. "This is my wife, Savannah. We carried you here when you fainted." He moved closer, smiling faintly when she relaxed slightly. "Are you all right?"

Avery stared at the strangers for a moment longer before nodding and standing. She tried not to wince as pain ricocheted through her body. "I'm fine," she told them quietly before stumbling. Suddenly, Gregori was there, swinging her up into his arms.

"What is it?" he demanded, voice loosing all of the friendliness it had earlier exhibited. Now, it was as if he were a general preparing for battle.

Avery frowned faintly and turned her head away, unwilling to involve anyone in her life. People usually got hurt. And, despite the peculiarities of these strangers, she didn't want anyone involved. She was perfectly happy with her solitary misery.

Gregori scowled. "I cannot help you if you refuse to tell me what is wrong."

Savannah placed a hand on his arm. "Gregori."

He sighed and shook his head at the young woman's stubbornness. "We are going to take you to our home, so that I can properly determine what ails you."

At the mention of the couple's home, Avery lurched forward, trying to escape Gregori's arms, but he merely tightened his hold, keeping Avery from escaping. "What is your name, child?"

Huffing out a breath, Avery decided to placate the guy who held her captive. "Amelia Earhart," she answered sweetly.

Gregori frowned as Savannah giggled. With a smile, the pregnant woman leaned close to the other woman. "No, really. What's your name?"

She sighed. "Avery Donovan."

Savannah smiled brilliantly. "You'll let us help you, won't you?"

Avery nodded reluctantly. She couldn't exactly say no when Savannah was looking so anxious. She had the odd urge to comfort the woman. "All right."

"Don't worry; we'll take care of you," she said. "We're not ax-murderers or anything."

A brow rose above Avery's gray eyes. "Oh, that's comforting, at least."

As Gregori got to the bottom of the stairs, Slavica hurried over to him, looking concerned. "Is she all right?" the innkeeper asked.

Avery frowned. The older woman hadn't even asked why Gregori and Savannah were taking her from the inn. Who were these people? She gasped as her left lung seized. Without hesitation, Avery began taking small, even breaths until the pain subsided.

Gregori glanced down at the woman in his arm. She radiated pain and suffering, but she gave no outward indication of the turmoil her body put her through. It was as if she had grown accustomed. His eyes narrowed to slits. Energy no longer pulsed from her frail body. Instead, Gregori suspected she had bound it within herself. Perhaps that was the reason for her failing health.

He exchanged a look with Savannah. I am afraid this girl is causing too much damage to herself by holding back her magic, he confided. She doesn't have a large amount, but her body seems capable of absorbing energy from her surroundings. And that may or may not be a bad thing. He sighed inwardly. I don't know if there's much we can do. He had only helped the girl at Savannah's urging and now he was afraid they had walked into something potentially disappointing. He did not genuinely know if they could help this girl. But, as she was psychic--and a potential lifemate for one of the other males--he would do what he could.

Savannah let out a small gasp, turning her gaze on the now sleeping woman in her lifemate's arms. She looked so young and frail. There must be something. Could she be converted?

Gregori looked directly at his lifemate, sorrow swirling in his eerie eyes. I am uncertain as to whether she can be successfully converted. He looked away. The girl was psychic, certainly, but a conversion might be too difficult on her. And there was something...he sensed something dark surrounding her. It worried him.


"Mama? Mama?" Avery ran through the house, her young body falling as she tried desperately to reach her mother's room. Something was wrong; she knew it.

She reached for the doorknob just as arms closed around her waist. Alaric, fifteen to her four years, held her tightly.

"Don't, Avery," he whispered hoarsely. Tears rolled down his cheeks. "Don't."

"Mama!" she screamed, frightened by her brother's frantic pleas. "MAMA!!!" Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing a room too dark to be real. Avery screamed and then the world closed in on her, sealing away the sight of blood splashed on white, white walls.

-------

Alaric laughed as Avery spun in mad circles, arms open to the rain. "What do you see, little elf-girl?" he asked her, still chuckling.

Avery stopped and sighed. "Everything."

Her brother smiled and pushed off from the wall. He was twenty-five, handsome and kind. Avery wanted so much to be like him. But she knew she could never be so good and bright. "Everything?" he asked. "And what does that look like, I wonder?"

She tugged on his arm, pulling him into the rain. "Look," she said softly. "Look up." He tilted his head back and she smiled, copying his movements. "Can you see it? When the rain is falling from an endless gray, can you see it?"

Alaric lowered his head and smiled affectionately at his sister. "Not everyone sees things as you do," he told her. When Avery's face fell, he knelt down, laughing gently. "But that's not a bad thing," he explained. "No, never a bad thing. You see the world in a way that would make even Mozart or Da Vinci envious. You see beyond what is there. And that, little elf-girl, is more precious than even the first spring bud."


Gregori frowned as he placed the girl on the bed. She had paled, if possible, even more, her skin translucent. A small whimper escaped her and Gregori sped back, shielding Savannah as lightning began to crackle around the young woman. Another whimper sounded and she shifted on the bed, the energy slowly dissipating.

We need your father.


all right. did you like it? i hope so. well, please review. and if you have any questions (or suggestions), don't hesitate to pose them...

please review!