Disclaimer:
The Nightworld, and it's characters belong to L. J. Smith I do not own it. I do however own only unrecognisable characters. Please R&RReflections
The morning had been cold and bleak, but after the constant drizzle, which had started around noon, the afternoon had been even bleaker.
Lethna sat in the apartment's living room (which doubled as the kitchen) watching as rain silently fell over the town. Her flatmate Valerine Bell was out somewhere, which suited her just fine since she didn't feel up to conversation with the red-haired, Daybreaker witch just yet…To be honest…she wasn't in the mood for any sort of conversation, and her mood was as bleak as the weather.
Seven, almost *eight* years ago, she'd lost her innocence…The day she'd tripped over the dead body of her own mother, and watched as a dark-haired stranger dropped the body of her three year old brother to the kitchen floor.
She'd told the police about it of course, along with the strange puncture marks she'd found on her brother's body, but they'd put it down to the ramblings of some-one in shock…and not taken any notice.
She'd been sent to live with Aunt Gayle, her mother's older sister, who had three children of her own…Three *grown* up children. Gayle Brown had resented having to look after yet another child, particularly as she'd never gotten on with her younger sister, Liase.
Lethna tried to tell Aunt Gayle about what she'd seen at home, but Gayle put it down to childish nonsense and attention seeking.
A little more than a year later, sick and tired of Lethna's talk of 'puncture marks' and 'shadowy figures' she put Lethna on a plane to America to go live with a couple of Liase's friends- John and Rhys Davies. By this time Lethna was a wary ten year old…A year of living with Gayle Brown had taken its toll on the once bubbly and out-going girl, and she'd become withdrawn and uncommunicative, with the sort of cynicism only adults should have. After extensive questioning…and a lot of patience on their part, John and Rhys finally got Lethna to tell them about the bodies of her mother and brother. To her amazement, they not only listened to her, but they believed her too. Then John told Lethna about the Night World and her mother's other job, and most importantly why she'd been killed.
Lethna hadn't wanted to believe at first…After all the idea of werewolves, vampires and witches existing seemed sort of weird somehow. It might have been ok to read the stories about them, but to believe they existed? That they were very, very real? That was another thing altogether!
However slowly, as things that earlier hadn't made sense started to add up, Lethna started to believe…and with that belief came bitterness. Liase hadn't been rich, and they'd certainly not had much that they could call their own…But they'd had each other…And for Lethna that had been enough…Had been all she ever wanted. She, Damon and Liase had been happy… Just them against the world…But the vampire who'd killed her mother and brother had taken that away from her, leaving her alone in an uncaring world, alone with the pain…and the memory of what once had been. The worst of it was that, like her innocence, Liase and Damon were gone forever, and what once was, could never be again, leaving her with just one option…Revenge! Somehow she would learn how to kill vampires, learn everything about the world in which they lived in, and then…she would hunt the vampire down who'd wiped out her family…And if this meant killing every vampire in the Night World to achieve her goal…Well so be it!
John had been doubtful at first…Most vampire hunters had started their training young… Well at least all the good ones had, and those who hadn't had at least some inkling of how to fight - Lethna had neither, and without either she'd be a lamb to the slaughter. Lethna proved him wrong, her need for revenge spurring her on to learn judo, pole fighting and how to use a knife. She found out during her training that although, she was fairly good with a knife…She had a real talent for both judo and pole fighting. She was also a natural at sensing danger, and had an uncanny ability to pick out vampires from ordinary citizens.
By the age of twelve she'd killed her first vampire, and with John's help she carved herself a wooden pole out of lignum vitae - the hardest wood on earth, making sure that one point was razor sharp. She called this pole her 'blaide' and she was absolutely lethal with it.
At fourteen, Lethna ran away from John and Rhys- not because she hated them, but she was worried that oneday vampires might track her back from a job, and kill them. Not knowing of anywhere else to go, Lethna joined Revenge, a small local network of Vampire hunters, who like her had been hurt by vampires and specialised in hunting them down. It's probably then that she buried the persona of Lethna and became Blaide. Blaide was tough, cool and emotionless, she didn't believe in love and was loyal only to her chosen friends, fellow vampire hunters and herself. Blaide was also one of the toughest and most dangerous hunters in the group. Blaide despised Daybreakers and hated vampires, hunting them with a zeal that few of the others had…
Lethna smiled humourlessly, who was she now? Was she Lethna or Blaide? Until two years ago she'd have said she was Blaide, and that Lethna was 'dead'. But now, she wasn't so sure…Not since she'd found about the Wild Powers- the people who would either destroy or save the world in the Millennium. But more importantly not after finding out that, through her family's witch blood, she too was part of the Night World…
It had started with dreams, dreams of four that could control blue fire…A fire of a blue so vivid…so intense that it had imprinted in her mind in a way she knew she'd never forget. Those dreams had driven a proud, cold vampire hunter to go against what she believed in, and seek help from the Daybreakers…That had been bad enough, then she'd found out ironies of ironies that she was a bloody witch!
Lethna had never known much about her family, apart from the fact that they were almost all in Jamaica. She hadn't known that she was six eighths Maroon, and had inherited their spirit magic in full…How could she? The spirit magic started to stir itself from a young age…hence Lethna's sixth sense for danger, and her ability to pick out vampires. But the spirit magic would only awaken completely during the mid to late teens…
The slamming of a door brought Lethna back to reality with a bump, she looked up to see her flatmate Valerine shaking rain out of her hair. "Hi Val," she said with false brightness, hoping the red-haired witch wouldn't notice her morose mood.
Valerine fixed her with a stern hazel eye, and with a sinking feeling Lethna realised she hadn't fooled her at all "You're been thinking about them again," she said- not bothering to mention who 'them' were.
Lethna shrugged, not even bothering to deny it. For some weird reason Valerine could read her like a book, she was also one of the few people she trusted, apart from some of the new friends she'd met at Circle Moonbeam.
Valerine sighed "You're gonna have to talk about it sometime" she said. "You can't leave it locked inside you forever."
"Can't I?" Lethna challenged.
"You know you can't!"
"Val, we may be friends, but…"
Valerine glared at her, "Don't you think I know that you went off and joined Circle Moonbeam because although you've stopped killing them all, you still can't really cope being around vampires. Or that even though you may have some control over your powers you refuse to do any more training, because deep down you're still uncomfortable with them?"
"Well…"
"I'm not stupid you know Lella, and I know that for all that we're friends, you won't completely trust me...It's like you can't let yourself. I also know that Circle Moonbeam lets you alone quite a lot, since you still can't let that bloody guard of yours down."
Lethna looked at Valerine shocked; she hadn't realised her friend was that perceptive! She suddenly felt very vulnerable in a way Blaide would never have been. Valerine was right, she hadn't been able to bring herself to talk about Liase or Damon to anyone, not even the other Circle Moonbeam members who she'd felt more at home with, than she'd ever had with Revenge or the Daybreakers. She sighed, the shuddering type, as inside her she felt all she'd been as Blaide, war with Lethna.
She felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Valerine looking at her seriously "Lella, you do know that I'll always be there for you don't you?"
Lethna sighed, at the end of the day the part of her that was still Blaide may still be suspicious of Circle Daybreak, but Blaide wasn't a witch with unpredictable healing powers and the power to spirit heal. Blaide was just a vampire hunter who was good at what she did…Almost as good as the Cat had been in fact. She couldn't move on because she didn't know anything else…But Lethna could! Lethna had learnt to control the magic to some extent, and had been forced to accept it. She sighed again, beginning to realise, perhaps for the first time, that mayhaps she was a mixture of both Blaide and Lethna…After all, Lethna had never really died, she'd just been banished by Blaide, as she'd never been able to cope in Blaide's world.
"Lella?" Valerine's voice broke into her thoughts, her voice worried. "Lella did you hear me?"
"Yeah," she said tiredly, feeling for some reason like she wanted to cry. "Do you still want to know about…um everything?"
"You know I do!"
Lethna sunk down on the sofa, and for the first time since her family's death she let the tears fall silently down her face, before beginning. "Well, it all started when I was nine…."