Chapter One - Shape-Shifter
Life is so much easier when you have people who care about you there.
"Electra, are you just going to stand there or are you going to join us for breakfast?" My new friend, Emery, shouted from the entrance of our tent. Emery was a strange girl, she came from the same realm as our leader, Aonie, and they were both similar in some ways. She had a shock of fuchsia pink hair that was moulded into a disarray of spikes that shot to her broad shoulders. Her big, almond shaped eyes were the colour of midnight. She was a large girl, in a pleasant way. She wasn't overweight, but she wasn't a size zero and that never seemed to bother her. Her muscles were well toned and she liked to take advantage of that, enjoying a good wrestle nearly all the time.
"I am coming, you are so impatient." I replied a grin spreading across my lips showing my perfectly white teeth and contrasting shockingly with my ebony skin. I stalked up to my friend and she slapped me on the back, an action that knocked the wind out of me. As we walked up to the building that housed that canteen and the training rooms we discussed yesterdays lesson with lady Aonie. She was a very good teacher, making things more interesting and fun. Emory was excelling at the moment, I did say that she was from the same realm as lady Aonie. People from Psyatron were always good at psychic and mental things (hence the name Psyatron).
We sat with our food and I began to drift as I often did during meal times. I know, you are wondering what happened at the end of my last tale, when I appeared. I have a gift for being able to see everything how others see it, if I concentrate anyway. Maybe if I let you know about my past, that would be best.
I was born in Greece in the year 700BC. Olympia was a beautiful city, devoted to Zeus. My mother died giving berth to me however she had been aided by lady Arabella. Yes, Arabella. I had been born into a life of slavery, I was the slave of a doctor. I can't remember his real name but he made me call him master. When I was old enough he made me pick the herbs and flowers so that they could be made into stews and teas. Arabella always stayed close o me when I was away from master. She protected me, obviously, it was her job! My master was kind to me, he never did beat me, well I never really gave him cause to. He was a good man who was devoted to his job. I discovered that if you put certain herbs together and boiled them for a specific amount of time then it would create a broth that you could smear over new wounds and they would heal quicker.
That is about it for my true past. I died during a battle between feuding families, I died protecting my master. I was taken to Hades, along the river Styx and passed his three-headed guard dog. Hades looked at me with a strange look in his petrifying eyes. His queen, Persephone, sat next to him and observed me with more warmth than he. She liked me and wanted me to be part of her court. Hades agreed so I accompanied the Goddess throughout my time there. Word caught with the Greek Gods and Goddesses that the Shadow Moon were planning an attack on earth.
Hades, combined with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, sent me here. So technically I am not alive. Actually I am not alive at all. My heart does not beat any longer but my brain still works. I do not need to eat or breath. I just do it because it makes everyone around me more comfortable. I do not understand how it works, but I cannot be killed either. I can, but that would mean the three gods dying.
I have made dear friends since my arrival here over two months ago. Emery, of course you know of her. Alec, he is in Centaur but we all catch up at meal times and in the evening. Alec has thick, mahogany ringlets that fall to his broad shoulders, skater style. He has Hawaiian shaped hazel eyes that are mystifying in the least. He is incredibly tall, at least a head taller than me. He looks seventeen but like the rest of us he has stopped aging.
Also, Aisling is a very nice girl. She is from Ireland on earth and her name suits her well. She is very much a dream or a vision. Her auburn hair falls to her bum in a straight mass of beauty. She has shocking blue eyes with a steely tinge to them. But the way she walks is like she glides, gracefully and smoothly. Her thoughts are nothing but pure truth and innocence. She sees the good in everyone. Which can be difficult at points.
Then there are the twins. Elena and Alejandro. They are from a complicated realm. It is called Espanzo. The Spanish people of earth were influenced greatly by everything of this realm. Their language, culture and tradition all came from this realm. I am not quite sure how they got a hold of it but somehow they did. The twins are very similar in looks and personality. They both have shoulder length deep brown hair and warm brown eyes. They both quite plain, but their inner beauty is beyond comparison.
And that is my main band of friends. The other volunteers have all mingled with each other to form groups of companions such as ourselves. However, we are known throughout the squadrons for our friendship and loyalty to each other. We are close, very close, there are others who we are friends with also but we mainly just stick to the six of us. The others respect that and include us in everything but never try to push us because they know that if one of us is hurt then the others will all leap to their aid.
"If you're not careful you'll end up making your food run away, what with that look you're giving it!" Aisling stated across from me. The joke was clear and I couldn't help but accompanying the others in laughter. Aisling had a wonderful voice, it was heavy with an Irish accent but high and bell-like.
"Sorry, I didn't realise that I had spaced out that badly." I replied still giggling slightly.
"It's alright I just didn't want you to go hungry, you should eat. Lady Aonie said that today would be hard." Aisling, like Emery, was in Phoenix along with myself.
"You are so lucky, Lord Hunter can be very boring. But I bet you haven't seen Lady Arabella in any of your lessons have you? She said that today she wouldn't be in ours but that she was going to check on lady Aonie. So you three will have her today." Elena commented from next to Aisling. Elena and her brother had a strong English accent even though they spoke a lot of Spanish. The twins were also in Wolf, they loved it really but they just made it seem like they didn't.
"Wait, Lady Arabella is coming to our class today? Wow, that will be interesting. Maybe you and her will get a chance to catch up, Electra." Emery stated as she nudged me with her elbow.
"Maybe." Was all I mumbled as I finished my now cold breakfast and left with my friends.
Elena had been right, Lady Arabella would be in our lesson. As soon as everyone was in the valley that we trained in she told us: "Today we are going to be accompanied by two very good friends of mine Lady Arabella and Lady Helena." At that the two girls had stood next to Lady Aonie and grinned out at us all. Lady Arabella's golden eyes would fall on me for a second then look away every other time that I had seen her, but today she looked at me and smiled warmly as if she knew how I got here. Duh! Of course she did!
"What are we learning today, I wonder?" Emery whispered in my ear.
"I don't know. Why?" I whispered back.
"The girl, the new one. She is good with animals."
"How can you tell? What do you mean anyway?"
"Her aura. It is very primitive. I can tell that her talent is animals, like she can call them. Can you not see it?"
"No, and she is from earth. She doesn't have any skills."
"Are you sure about that because I see different."
At that Emery moved forward to get a better look at the girl who was known as Lady Helena. Aisling crept up to my side and nudged me slightly.
"I can see it too." She mumbled. I could feel her pushing the picture at me and so could Lady Arabella. She shot Aisling a questioning look and then looked at her friend who was laughing at something Lady Aonie was doing. I caught the image from Aisling's mind and gasped.
"I wonder if she can? That would be magnificent." I heard Arabella mumble.
"What would? Who? What you on about?" Helena asked Lady Arabella with a somewhat amusing look of parliament on her face.
"Nothing, Helena. Aonie why don't you stop fooling around with that rock and get on with your lesson, we don't have all day." Arabella retorted. Lady Aonie stuck her tongue out at her but did as she was told.
"Right, today then we are going to learn how to communicate with animals." Lady Aonie ordered and Emery gave a bark of a laugh that clearly said: told you so.
Without any further instructions, we broke off into our groups of three and began to work on calming our minds. I sat cross legged on the hard wood floor and put my headphones in my ears. The beautiful composures of Hans Zimmer filled my head and I instantly began to relax. I could feel my mind lengthening its grip so that the thoughts of Aisling and Emery were in my head also. In our first lesson we had been taught how to do this, it was an extremely useful skill. I always leaded them because I was used to meditating and I was able to cool down quicker than the others.
Once our minds were in synchronisation I opened my eyes and stood up, but I kept my music playing. Aonie had been going through the instructions while we were meditating so Aisling, Emery and myself began to work on today's task. Arabella was making her way over to where we stood, my pulse began to pick up and my breathing quickened.
"I haven't seen you in a while. I know… what happened. Pretty cool really. That was amazing what you did … for him. Wow." Lady Arabella stammered. I swallowed loudly and she smiled at me awkwardly.
"Arabella, I would appreciate it if you didn't distract my students. They have a job to do, you guys are doing really well." Aonie snapped from behind her. I turned unwillingly away from Arabella and continued with my task.
"I am sorry, Aonie. Helena, come here will you?" Arabella called. The young girl with black skipped to her side and looked at her expectantly.
"Helena, this is Electra. Electra, this is Helena. Why don't you two get acquainted while I have a word with Aonie."
"Hey, s'up?" Helena greeted me with a beaming grin. I returned her grin and answered in her slang. "Not much, you?"
"Same. So you know Arabella?"
"Yeah. She's working for your dad isn't she?"
"Yup. So, like, why d'ya sign up?"
"I didn't, they made me."
"What, but you're volunteers."
"No, they didn't make me. The people who owned me made me. Well, I offered but they won't let me pull out."
"Oh. That makes no sense. Ha!"
I couldn't help laughing. Helena was a very sweet girl. Helena was a girl who knew nothing of the world that really existed and Arabella wanted it to stay that way. I could see why. She was a girl who loved to be happy and you felt the same.
"Are you two getting along?" Arabella asked as she strode up behind Helena with Aonie trailing behind her a calculating look on her face.
"Yeah. What were you guys talking about?" Helena asked back.
"You, Helena. We were talking about you."
"Oh. Why?"
"All in good time, Helena."
At that I grinned then turned back to my friends. I heard Aonie, Helena and Arabella walk off to observe the other groups but Arabella was letting me into her mind. She showed me what she knew about me (and she knew it all really). Also, she showed me that Helena was talented. Like Emery and Aisling had said, apparently she was a shape-shifter. A skill lost to all for two thousand years. My friends smiled at me and I smiled back.
We continued with our tasks and received only one other visit. The class came to an end all too soon in my opinion. We headed back to the valley and changed out of our training clothes and into something that was cleaner. Emery was deep in conversation with Aisling as we made our way over to the canteen for dinner. Our usual table was taken by Alec, Elena and Alejandro. Alec smiled at me when we sat but the twins were glaring at each other.
"Have fun today?" He asked. I nodded then grinned at the memory of Emery bursting into a sweat.
"Lady Arabella was in our class today, and you know her friend, Helena, apparently she is a shape-shifter. Well that is Electra said that Lady Arabella said." Emery informed Alec who was probably the only other one but me at the table who was listening. The twins were still glaring at each other and Aisling was talking to a girl from wolf.
"Really. That is so cool! Does she know it yet or are they going to start her soon?" Alec asked aiming it mainly at me. However, I found it difficult to reply as he stared at me with those fabulous hazel eyes. He raised his eyebrows expectantly and I grinned impishly.
Luckily Emery saved me,
"She doesn't know it yet but it is really obvious if you know what to look for."
"Oh. So do you think that she'll be just one animal or be able to morph into more than one?"
"I don't know. She's quite strong but I don't know if that's just because it's been dormant for all her life. She's very typical earth teenager if you know what I mean. She isn't really the kind of girl that would ever try what you need to do to change. You have to completely relax and then picture every part of the animal you want for your first few times. After you've got used to it, it doesn't take that much getting used to. So I've heard anyway."
I began to drift, to think about Helena. Maybe I should let you in on her first transformation. Nothing important happened that night at the camp so might as well.
Chapter two - Trial
Aonie grinned at Arabella, the plan had been set and they both knew that Helena would fall for it. Arabella led the way back into the main chamber where Helena sat in deep conversation with Peter ( the two of them spent nearly all day together). Hunter and Edward stood leaning against the wall casually talking about that day's lessons. Arabella nodded at Aonie and made to stand next to Hunter who slid his arm tenderly around her waist ( those two had also been spending a lot more time together).
"So Helena, I was wondering if you would try something." Aonie said. It was a question but Aonie already knew the answer so there was no need to ask.
"Okay, what is it?" Helena replied making both Arabella and Aonie grin wickedly.
"It's a psychic thing. Have you ever meditated?"
"Once or twice."
"Super. Right, I want everyone to be quiet so that Helena can meditate. Right take deep breaths: in; out; in ;out. That's good well done. Now, clear all thoughts from your mind so that it's just black. Good. I want you to picture an animal, wait I will tell you what animal I want you to picture. It's a panther. Now, imagine yourself becoming that Panther. Your hands changing into sharp clawed paws; your legs and arms changing into powerful weapons of death; your torso lengthening and sprouting a glossy black coat; your face morphing to the shape of killer cat; your teeth growing and sharpening to become fierce and deadly. Well done."
Helena had done as she was told and it had worked. Her whole being was that of a gorgeous Panther. A soft purr echoed from deep in her chest and Arabella giggled. The Panther opened its huge amber eyes and stared at the crowd, and hissed. It was a menacing sound. A warning to stay back or she would rip your face off.
"Helena?" Peter asked from behind her in his strong cockney accent. Helena turned sharply to face him and purred again as she nuzzled at his arm for fuss. Peter's hand came up and began to scratch softly behind her large ears.
"I told you that it would work." Aonie gloated with a smug set to her chin.
"I never doubted you for a second." Arabella announced. A blush crept up Aonie's skin and turned her cheeks a dull rose. Edward and Hunter were both grinning as they looked from each other to Helena, everyone but Helena had known beforehand what would be happening. Arabella's mind was skipping ahead though, her golden eyes were distant and calculating. She was wondering if it would be possible to conjure up images of creatures that Helena had never seen.
Her thoughts picked up images of strange, mythical creatures that lived in far off realms. She observed as a deep and black part of her reacted to them in different ways. Either that part of her would flinch away from it, wanting to run and hide, stay normal and hardly acknowledge it, or it would become eager and crouch like the savage beast it was. All of them would be helpful. She was keeping herself under tight reins and so far it was working.
"That's a good idea." Hunter whispered in her ear. She felt the waves of bliss ripple down her cheek where his warm, sweet smelling breath tickled her. She smiled wryly, the right corner of her mouth pulling up slightly, in reply. Aonie was grinning from ear-to-ear. She was obviously proud of herself, and so she should be. She'd thought it would take a few weeks to perfect this but it didn't even take a day.
"Helena, all you have to do to change back is picture what I told you to but in reverse. If you try it that would be great. Don' worry, you're clothes will come because you morphed slowly so they became part of you."
Helena did as she was told, everyone watched her mind and her boy as it changed back to human. When the claws had disappeared thirty seconds later, everyone erupted into a loud applause sending a harsh blush across Helena's olive cheeks.
"We all thought you wouldn't be able to do it on the first try. It is a very difficult skill to master, even for those who have the gift. Well done!" Aonie congratulated letting her grin cool.
"Thanks. Can I do more than one animal?" Helena replied eagerly.
"Yes. What you can do is practice in front of a mirror. You can do it with any animal at all. Just be careful. For now, you'll have to do it the way I did it. But once you get used to it, you should be able to morph in a second. Cool, isn't it?" "Yeah. I'll practice instead of coming with Arabella. If that's alright, of course." Arabella smiled at her in a knowing way that said " that wasn't a question". Helena suppressed a yell and just thanked her.
"I have to worn you though, your subconscious won't like all of the animals that you try. You won't know though until you have a go with them. The animals that you like won't necessarily be the ones that your subconscious does, so it's pretty much trial and error. Tonight, I'll think up some animals that I think you'll suit, those are the ones that you won't be effected by because they show your personality." Arabella said. She'd had a bit of experiences with shape-shifters in her 3'000 years and she knew how they worked.
Helena nodded not bothering to ask why it might effect her and how (I was curious).
Aonie and Edward left the room with good-byes and no contact, they were a little shy about there feelings for each other. Crushes are awful things. Peter and Helena were having a conversation about some rabbit they had seen when they had gone for their daily walk this morning (well ten o'clock). And Hunter had decided to take a wander around Arabella's chambers. He did that occasionally.
Arabella sighed then pardoned herself from Helena and Peter. She took the far hallway that led to her room. She strolled carelessly down the corridor letting her bare feet scuff the floor as they lifted. Arabella loved to breath in the scent of the fresh Dahlias that lined the walls in immaculately decorated vases. She froze when she got to the end of the corridor: the door to her private chambers was open.
Arabella jogged to the open door and peeked inside. She felt like a little child peering round a corner as they were eaves-dropping on a very important conversation. To her relief it was just Hunter, then she got a bit mad.
"What are you doing in here? You know that no one is allowed in here without my permission. What are you doing in here?" She demanded. Hunter turned sharply at the intensity of her tone, smiling sheepishly.
"Lo siento. I needed to see what was going on. Your head has been a bit all over the place since the day we met the volunteers and I just wanted to find out why. You've been avoiding this line of conversation since that day and I want to know what's wrong with you. How am I supposed to help if I don't know what it is that is the problem?" Hunter retorted. His deep Spanish accent, that Arabella had persuaded him to keep, laid on an under-tone to his argument that would have most people scared. However, Arabella was completely used to it.
She lowered her golden eyes and caught sight of an old, green notepad in his large right hand.
"Where did you get that?" Arabella rushed. It came out as a mush really, her husky voice tripping over the words in a rush to get them out with emphasis. Her pulse had begun to thunder in her ears, only it sounded like this constant drone rather than an actual beat.
"It was on your bed. Who's Tristan?"
"That is none of your business. Now, how much did you read?"
"Just the first few pages. Who are they?"
Arabella looked away from his stormy grey eyes to the window against the opposite wall. The sky outside was a hot pink, terracotta, baby blue and pea green. It was an awful combination but it still looked quite good. Arabella hadn't told anyone about her family. Not a soul knew about them. It should have been quite obvious that they were siblings since they had the same last name, however, not many people knew her last name either. Only Peter and Eloise called her by her last name and that was when others weren't around.
Arabella wasn't prepared for people to know about her family. To know about her loving two brothers: Tristan and Robin. Or her fragile mother: Ariana. Her little sister: Isabella. She certainly wasn't ready for them to know about her father, the one who would come home and beat her, just for the fun of it. So she didn't tell him. Not right then anyway. She just stood and stared at the peculiar sky outside and finally heard him leave.
Things had been going just swell between them. They were getting a long just like old times. It was so nice. She knew that this would set them back some time. But what was she supposed to do? Just blurt out her past to him! Not a chance, if Arabella had learned anything in her long and somewhat tedious life, it was that: everything should be on a need to know basis (well, in her eyes it should. But hell, she has been wrong before).
Chapter three - gasp
The moons were eerie that evening. Something about them said that something was happening. The moons were clever like that. This realm was flat. Actually flat. The moons acted as a type of shield that went around the entire planet. You see each realm is one or more planets. This realm is just the one (the moons don't count). So you can always tell if something is happening to the shield by the brightness of the moons. If they're dull then it's fine, if they are bright then something is wrong.
That evening the moons had a metallic glow to them, something was happening. Not everyone knew this but they would find out soon enough.
Emery sat next to Aisling opposite me, the campfire in the middle lit up Aisling's auburn hair. Alec was on Aisling's right with Elena and Alejandro next to him. Alec was staring incoherently at the fire obviously fantasising about something, the way his eyes had a touch of longing to them I could tell. Elena was drawing on a piece of thick sketching paper while Alejandro chatted up some girl that I had never paid much attention to.
I did nothing. Just watched my friends do their own thing. I joined Alec, staring into the fire strangely helped me to calm my mind after a hard day of working. Two more days and we would be working with Lord Hunter. At least it was a lesson I didn't have to do much work in.
My mind began to drift to a time long ago. I was fifteen years of age and working as a slave. Arabella and myself were in a place like this, surrounded by hills and a fire to warm our aching feet. I asked Arabella about her life before the attack. She didn't tell me anything though. I told her about my life before I was old enough to work as a doctor's slave. Then as the night grew old she told me a passionate tail that had me so engrossed that when I fell asleep half way through, I dreamed about it. The dream was beautiful: filled with distorted colours and fuzzy figures. I saw the two main characters clear-as-crystal though. They stood entwined in one-another's arms, the blurred background disappearing as they lips drifted closer. This had not been part of the story but it was pleasing me as my subconscious now replaced those two characters with myself and Alec. As our lips met, my hands slid down his collar-bone and undid the buttons that were already halfway open. I could almost feel his hands splaying across my back as he moaned in delight.
"Electra, are you alive?" Alec's amused voice broke through my unbelievable fantasy. I realised why I could feel his hands on my back, they were placed gently in the middle.
"Sorry, I was miles away," I replied but when I saw his expression I added, "What's wrong?" Alec's hazel eyes were troubled and a crease was between his brows.
"Arabella's here to see you. She said it was urgent."
At that point I noticed Arabella standing next to Alec. Her face looked just as troubled as Alec's (not that others could tell but I knew from experience). I stood carefully, Alec's hand falling to his side leaving a tingling sensation where it had been.
"Follow me, Electra." Arabella ordered, her voice low and oddly chilling. I did as I was told even though my entire body was numb. I could feel that something was very wrong. My curiosity was getting the better of me.
"Something's wrong, the moons are too bright. What is it?" I demanded when we were far enough out of earshot from the camp. Arabella kept up her pace but answered.
"Iliana says that there is someone trying to get through. She doesn't think that they're bad but we're not 100 percent."
"What role do I play in this?"
"You'll see. They're not alive so we were wondering if they were friends of yours."
They'd reached the palace and I gasped in shock. The moons were more pronounced here so I could clearly see their brightness. I didn't like it one bit, it felt wrong. On the right hand side of the palace's main entrance stood a well with Iliana leaning precariously over it. I walked up to her but, even though she could hear me, she didn't look up.
"Look at the water and tell me if you are in acquaintance with these creatures." Iliana instructed in a clipped tone. I had never heard Hades or any of the other Gods, for that matter, talk about Iliana being panicked. It was slightly unnerving.
I did as I was bid and leaned over the well, staring into the murky water below. A group of people around the same age as Arabella and myself stood in a huddle with confused and slightly annoyed expressions. I didn't know these people, or creatures as they were rightly called by Arabella and Iliana. They both could tell that the group were not human but they were not 100 percent what they were as Arabella had said.
I knew what they were. They came from the realm, Vamron. A dark and cold realm that fed on the lives of other living things (excluding plants). I saw the way that they moved and the way that their bodies curved in a primitive way. I knew that their pale, deceptive beauty was just a coy until they could get you alone and suck you dry.
You know them as Vampires, I have no name for them but the realm that they came from. I see them differently to the way that you do. They are not monsters, a lot of them have been trying to find ways of calming their blood-lust but nothing has worked immensely. These were not people originally from Vamron though, they had a stronger way of holding themselves meaning that they had been made into vampires. I had never fully understood how that had happened but it happened all the same.
"Do you know them?" Arabella asked impatiently. I shook my head letting my open mind fill with their images and then told her what they were with my thoughts, I didn't trust my voice. Vampires very rarely left Vamron so when they did it was for a good reason. And them looking peed off sent a menacing shiver along my spine.
"Oh. Maybe we should meet them at the entrance and see what they want. I'll go, if they try to hurt me I can put the shield back up where as no one else can. Shall I go now while you alert the others, Arabella?" Iliana said her voice very low in volume, even for her.
Arabella was giving me peculiar look as she replied, "Yes. Go now." I could see how she was feeling, confused and very out of place. A gave her a questioning look but she was staring at the water. I sighed and turned my back to the well, perching on it with my legs crossed at the ankle.
The sky above was a shimmering chrome, turquoise, peach and magenta. All of the colours took on a metallic look, making me even more concerned. In the Underworld I had been taught about most of the different realms. In a disturbing way I missed the cold, dark and mysterious dungeon that had become my home over the very long years that I had lived there. I missed it's unearthliness and creeping darkness that gave me a comforting nudge into an even darker and more peaceful abyss.
I was shocked when Hunter, Aonie, Edward, Dartemis and Helena all came running up the valley and were greeted by Arabella who speedily explained and reassured them about the situation. Aonie smiled at me pleasantly, a smile which I returned. A deep joy tugged at the edge my thoughts coming from most of the group, it seemed that we had been right about the Shape shifter. They had all been down in the camp talking to some of the volunteers like they did every night.
A sense of something that shouldn't be here passed over us and we shivered in unison. Iliana had opened the shield and the Vampires were coming in. But it didn't feel wrong, just not right. The others were all nervous but I had seen the look on Arabella's face when she'd heard about the Vampires, it was a sickly pleased look.
The Vampires were ascending the valley now, coming up to meet us. I could feel there annoyance at Iliana's slow pace, they kept behind her out of courtesy. I moved to the front of our small group. I was probably the only one who knew how to deal with Vampires. Arabella moved gingerly to my side with Hunter trailing next to her but positioning himself protectively in front of her.
Iliana emerged at the top of the hill and moved aside politely. The group of Vampires quickly assembled next to her and faced us full-on in a war-like line. The three in the middle of the line were only a metre apart from us. I felt Arabella flinch as she regarded the obvious leader.
His shimmering golden hair, the colour of fool's gold, was tied back into a ponytail on the nape of his long, snow-white neck. His glacier green eyes were streaked by gold that had come from leadership. He wore a loose t-shirt, a deep teal and khaki combats that looked ironed too stiffly. Most of the males in the line wore t-shirts and combats but they were all a rainbow of colours. He had menacingly curving eyes that thinned out into feminine points that just made him look even more vicious. Even in the dark I could make out the delicate spirals and intricately licking flames that were the symbol of Vampires and represented Witch-fire.
"My name is Tristan. My coven and myself mean you no harm, we came here to help. We come from a realm that was killed by the shadow moon centuries ago," The leader started but was cut off by Arabella mumbling "Join the club". He shot her an annoyed look but left it. His voice sounded young and filled with depth. He didn't look like he had depth but he did look young, only the same age as us.
"We would like to join you in battle against those monsters, we would like to get at back at them for killing our families. You see we narrowly escaped them, only just. When we went back to our houses there was no one left except their corpses and in some cases not even that. Do you see why we would like to join?" This was the girl on Tristan's left, she a soft and caring voice like bells, one that could rip you to shreds like the teeth that it whistled past.
Arabella wasn't breathing, she was staring opened mouthed up and down the line. I could feel her fear, a fear to hope that ebbed through her whole body and captivated her whirling thoughts.
"It can't be," Hunter whispered. Then added, " they're dead!"
"That's why I don't want to hope." She mumbled in reply.
Tristan took a hesitant step forward and locked eyes with Arabella. A felt the shudder rock her body.
"I had two sisters. Isabella was the youngest at not even a year old. Then there was Arie who was only six. When me and Robin," Tristan indicated the boy on his right, " went back to our house we didn't find any bodies. Our mother hadn't been home and neither had our father … but our sisters had been." As he finished with a note of utter sadness Arabella convulsed forward, a soft hiccup of sobs escaping her.
I could feel the soft pulses of realisation ebbing off her in waves. The boy who was called Robin, who had the same hair and eyes as Tristan (they were obviously brothers) and wore only black, stared at Arabella in shock. I tapped into his emotions and was overcome by a sickening sense of déjà vu.
This was getting way too creepy. What was going on here?
Arabella straightened up her face deathly pale and her gold eyes unreadable.
"How did you survive?" She asked in a voice that was somewhere between a cry and angry. I couldn't pick up a thing from her, she was too messed up (ha).
"Actually I'm not sure."
"What's your last name?"
"Why do you want to know that?" Shot the boy who was called Robin.
"Because I think you might be my brothers."
Chapter four- realisations
Everyone gaped at her. Including me. The only person who wasn't was Tristan. A grin was slapped cockily across his face (but it wasn't really a smug smile so that wasn't really a good description) and his eyes sparkled with what I could feel were tears of happiness. A strong wave of realisation swept over all of the vampires and Hunter.
"Arabella, I knew you weren't dead. I could feel it. What happened?" Tristan exclaimed a tear glistened on his marble skin.
"Ditto." Arabella breathed, a soft bell on the breeze. Before anyone could blink Tristan had Arabella in a tight bear-hug. I glanced from the embracing siblings to the other one, Robin, who stood paralyzed and a goofy grin toying at the corner of his mouth. I couldn't help but smile myself as I was swamped by an enormous amount of glee and pleasure. I could hear Arabella and Tristan giggling and crying into each other. Whispering softly about how sad they were and how they thought they would never see each other again. I looked once more at the vampires, most of them wore a complex expression or one of an unreadable nature. I got the feeling that if Tristan hadn't been the leader then most of them would have felt differently.
When they finally broke away, Arabella ran straight to Robin who looked quite shocked when she ran into him. I could feel how embarrassed he was when he felt her soft curves. He obviously wasn't accustomed to being in that proximity to women. He wrapped his arms around her shortly then pushed her away.
"Sorry, forgot that you didn't like hugs. But I've missed you. You can't blame me." Arabella said impishly.
"It's fine. Just wasn't expecting it, that's all."
I moved forward purposefully, straight to Arabella. I slapped her hard on the shoulder and saw Tristan shy toward me in my peripheral vision. She span around on her heel saying OW but I ignored her, landing her with an icy glare.
"Care to explain?" I hissed through my teeth. I heard Aonie and Hunter move forward behind me, as if they were flanking me. Arabella gave an apologetic look.
"What would you like to know?" This was the girl who had stood next to Tristan. Her appearance matched her voice exquisitely, with a loosely fitted sweater made of a fine cashmere and a flowing silk skirt that was completely black, falling to her knees as if she were a dancer.
"Well, you never told us that you had brothers. So come on. Introduce us. I thought you had some form of manners." Hunter interrupted me before I could voice my venomous thoughts.
Arabella heaved a sigh then said, "This is Robin; he's the youngest of my brothers but older than me by seven years. This is Tristan; he's the oldest. That's about it. Not much else matters."
"Does that mean that we don't? I thought we were friends. You'll make me cry." Protested a boy. He was the same build as Tristan; long, lean body with broad shoulders. His hair shone like a raven's wing in the light of the moon's (his hair was black if you didn't get that), his eyes melted milk-chocolate. His shirt was a deep maroon and his trousers a dark brown to match his eyes. He came up behind Arabella and carefully nudged her in the small of her back.
Arabella giggled like a nervous school girl which made Hunter tense up.
"Of course you matter, but since I'm not sure if I recognise all … Adrian!" She shrieked then leaped at him, his thick arms encircling her. He laughed into her hair as he set her back down.
"I'll help you out then, you remember Jane? Well …" He trailed off as he indicated the girl who had moved next to Tristan, the one who looked like a dancer. The girl smiled sweetly, even her smile was graceful and caring .
Everyone turned back to look at Adrian who was standing in front of the line of vampires waiting for quiet to continue his introductions.
" You probably won't remember these three stunning girls but, this is Lauren," he said indicating a girl with glossy brown hair that swayed to her shoulders in thin, straight streaks and round, hazel eyes. "Dhechan," the girl next had an oriental look about her; long, shimmering black hair and dark, mysterious eyes. "And Eleanor." This girl had short, spiky hair that was a violet-black tinge and pale blue eyes.
The three beautiful girls smiled in unison as Arabella gave a knowing nod. Adrian moved onto another group of people. All of them wore white vest tops that clung to them and white shorts that came half-way up their thighs. "You probably won't remember Taylor, Susannah, Pierre, Amy, Thomas and Rachel. Wow, that is a mouthful. But these lot were always boring so it's a surprise that we remember them." Adrian chuckled. He cut off as a girl with thickly curling dark brown hair kicked him sharply in the ankle, her near-black eyes gleaming with smugness as Adrian hopped up and down clutching his ankle.
"Good one, Amy." Congratulated another girl who looked almost identical to her only she was a bit taller. Their clothes were the same too; long sleeved cotton, grey shirts with matching grey suit trousers that looked cotton too.
"Thanks, Rachel." Amy replied. The other girl, Susannah rolled her stormy-grey eyes then flicked her soft wheat-coloured hair over her shoulder. Susannah wore all black too; black, silk shirt with black shorts that were the same length as Lauren's, Dhechan's and Eleanor's.
"I do remember them, Adrian. Wow, so you're all here. You're all vampires. Wow!" Arabella sighed. Her grin was still there on her face but she didn't sound so sure.
"There isn't anything to worry about though, we are very careful about blood …" Tristan began. He was still talking but I was distracted by three boys. Pierre, Thomas and Tyler were whispering to each other and nodding.
The one who was doing most of the talking had cropped red hair and icy blue eyes. His shirt was a sea blue and his trousers a dark grey. He kept shooting anxious glances toward Robin and I could feel a peculiar depth to the glance. The one who was only doing some talking but mainly nodding had dirty blonde (also cropped) hair and soft hazel eyes, brown shirt and brown trousers. The other looked nervous with a worried frown on his pale lips. His skin was a light ebony, his hair black and spiky, dark brown eyes and marine blue clothes.
I realised with a start that what had distracted me was the strong feelings of love edging off them in short, staccato waves. I couldn't quite place who they were for but their was definitely worry for loved ones. They trusted Tristan's judgement but they weren't positive about this move.
"That should be fine. We have a lot of animals here who are, fortunately, becoming over-populating. So you would be doing us a favour. Just try not to do your hunting when people are around, we need all the help we can get." Dartemis explained. His white-blond hair shining a peach in moonlight and his white robes a magenta. Tristan laughed, it was sweet and enchanting making my head spin slightly, I could tell where Arabella got hers from.
"Thank you." Tristan said after he was done laughing. He led the vampires away into the palace. I'd missed a lot! Aonie and Edward followed them closing the door quietly behind them. I was dismissed and told to keep this quiet from the other volunteers.
* * *
The fire had burned out when I got back to the camp; no one was out. Only a few candles flickered in the many tents that stood dotted in every direction. I turned onto the muddy path on the right and followed it to my tent. The candles were out in my tent. I silently opened the door and shut it just as silently, letting the green canvas material sway shut behind me. I was shocked to Emery, Aisling and Elena all sitting up.
"Where were you? We were worried! What did Arabella want?" Shrieked Emery. She shot to her feet and shook my shoulders slightly when I didn't reply.
"We were just … sharing old memories. Sorry, I didn't mean to be gone for so long." I replied once she had finished almost breaking my neck. "If you don't mind I am going to sleep because I am shattered." I finished as I picked a pile of clothes from my bed and slipped into the bathroom.
Yes, a bathroom. Weird, I know but they came with the tents. It was just a small, white affair with a toilet, bath-shower and a sink. I put the seat down on the toilet and placed the pile of clothes on it. I really was tired, my amber eyes had dark shadows under them and felt like lead every time that I blinked.