Split

by Iaan555

Millenia after Kylar's great victory, the kakari has moved on. James, a young theif, living in modern day London has been bonded to the kakari, and is happy with his lot, when he meets Hannah. Kakarifer, Normal girl, Society trying to kill them both...

A/N: Hey guys, this is a pretty loose fanfic im afraid, but i've enjoyed writing it. Sorry its in one big block, i'm brand new to the site and havn't got much of a clue. I stopped writing and started another story when i got to like 40000 words, but if you guys like it, i'll continue with it. Please review. :)

Split

The Night Angel was getting restless. He'd followed this man half way across the country for what he had done; he wasn't going to be stopped by a locked door. He took one last look out of the small window, checking the plane was still over the ocean for one last time. The kakari oozed from his pores, coating his clothing and skin. Abruptly, he disappeared. He walked to the thick metal door and stopped; peeking through the meshed window. His deader was lying in the large bed; one of the whores he was travelling was squirming around on top of him. The Night Angel knelt in front of the door.

~You said that you wouldn't kill again after the last one~ came the kakari's voice, floating through his mind as it devoured the lock. 'This is the man who poisoned my mother! What am I supposed to do? Pat him on the back and buy him a beer?' the Night Angel replied, sounding more than a little desperate. Still invisible, he slipped through the door, shutting it silently behind him. He drew a little magic, muffling his footsteps as he walked towards the bed. The whore groaned as the man did something the Night Angel was glad he couldn't see. With magic, he lifted the whore off the man. He knocked the whore's head of the wall and covered the man's mouth, stopping his inevitable cry of surprise. Looking into the man's eyes he saw hundreds of murders, rapes, robberies and many crimes that he couldn't even name. And one of those murders was his mother's; this man had killed seven others since then. He let the black kakari cover his skin, emphasizing his muscles and covering his face with the mask of judgment. "Murderer." He growled at the terrified man. He drew a long knife from his belt, and with inhuman speed, slashed the man's throat. The man's neural implant -which had no doubt cost him billions- sensed the man's pain and fear, setting off an alarm throughout the plane. He let the kakari sink back into his skin, removing the mask of judgement. Summoning his magic, he punched his hands through the plane's metal wall and tore out a huge chunk. Air rushed out of private jet, sucking the Night Angel out into the night sky. The plane dipped behind him as he fell. He pulled his arms and legs close to his sides as he shot towards the earth. As he reached roughly fifty thousand feet, he brought his legs and arms out, creating as much air resistance as he could. He'd never skydived before, but he was sure as hell going to do it again. He made different shapes with his arms, twirling through the air. He noticed the ground, approaching far too quickly. He spread his arms and legs again, webbing them with the kakari like a flight suit. His decent slowed dramatically and he began to fly more forwards than downwards, gliding towards the English coast. After a few minuets of flying he flew over London towards the outskirts. He swept in low over the rooftops, searching the streets. His vision was enhanced by the kakari and he soon spotted what he was looking for. He pulled himself vertical, slowing down as he neared the ground. He drew the kakari back into himself and dropped the last six feet. He broke his fall with a role and jogged off down the street. He soon caught up with his father. The man was obviously drunk. "Hey dad." He said as he grabbed his father's arm, stopping him from falling off the kerb.

"James?" he slurred drunkenly "What are you doing out at this time of night?"

"Sorry dad. Lets get you home." James said, watching the sky as a dark spot in the sky flew off towards America. For the first time since his mother's death, James smiled. 'I wont be needing you for a while' he thought to the kakari. It didn't reply.

Three months later.

James shot round the corner, closely followed by two policemen. He cursed under his breath as another cop car turned in at the other end of the street. Bloody cops, he thought dads gonna to kill me! The street was narrow with no alleyways or shops. James scanned the street calmly, still running full pelt as he looked for a way out. Then he saw it, two flagpoles sticking out about two metres apart from what looked like an army cadet building. He turned and made a beeline for the building. He leaped onto a bin then with only one foot to make the jump, he launched him self for the nearest flagpole. His fingers brushed the edge but he couldn't get a grip. He was still imagining a nasty fall followed by a sprained ankle and a prison sentence, when his body went into automatic. He hit the wall feet first and mustered all the power he could in the few short seconds then leaped. He swung from the pole, his momentum carrying him upwards and, with a little kick of his feet for good luck he let go of the pole. But instead of flying over the police car and down the street, he went up and grabbed the edge of the roof. He pulled himself up and ran, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He threw off his balaclava letting his sweaty blond curls dry off in the breeze. Stuffing the money from his sack into the numerous pockets of his combat trousers as he slowed to a walk, looking for a way off of the rooftops.

Fifteen minutes later he sauntered out of Gamestation with a new racing game for his PS3, compliments of "Joe's Travels". He turned down a side ally towards his house. He was half way down the alley when someone stepped out of a doorway. He was shorter than James, dressed in a grey hoodie and jeans. He was slightly built and the hoodie looked too big for him. He gave James a nervous glance, looking at his muscled arms and broad shoulders. Then, in a deep voice that was obviously put on, he said "Gimme your money". James smirked at the small figure, but the smirk dropped from his face as the boy pulled out a large kitchen knife. James reacted automatically. He lunged forward and grabbed his attacker's wrist. He twisted it and forced his attackers arm up behind his back. The mugger cried out in surprise and pain. But it wasn't the cry of a young boy, 'That sounded like a… no it couldn't be, could it?' James thought. The knife clattered to the ground as James reached up and pulled back the hood. Long brown hair, tumbled out of the hood as James' attacker let out a small sob. James let go of the girls arm. She tied to run off but in her hurry she smashed into a wheelie bin and fell, clutching her chest, winded. Tears ran down her cheeks and onto an extremely expensive looking necklace. It was basically a peril necklace, but each small peril had a love heart of diamonds etched into it. She had pale skin and full pink lips. Her deep blue eyes looked terrified looking up at the grim faced muscled teen in front of her. But there was something else there, was it grief, or just terror. James realised he was staring. She's beautiful, he thought as he took a step towards her. "No, please", she whispered, trying to back away "don't hurt me"

"I, I'm so sorry" James stuttered, he'd fancied and been out with girls before but this girl was… perfect. "I didn't know you were… I mean, I'm sorry, are you alright?" He asked as he knelt down beside her. She started to cry properly now and James reached out and pulled her close. James hadn't got a clue what was going on, or why he was doing this, but I just seemed right. She buried her head in his chest and cried. James hugged her as she slowly calmed down. On closer inspection she was a little dirty and smelled like she hadn't was in a couple of days, but James didn't mind. She seemed like the kind of girl who had been rich, and know she was suddenly poor (for what reason James hadn't a clue) she didn't know how to survive. James took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "What happened?" He asked. It was all he needed to say. She spoke quietly and reasonably calmly now that she had control of herself

"My mum and dad and Jake are dead," she let out a little sob, "these men, they said they were from the government came to the house." She sobbed again "They accused my dad of practicing evil magics. It was all shit, obviously. My dad hadn't a clue what they were on about, he tried to hit one of the men with an old walking stick but the man just pulled a gun and shot him. Jake appeared at the door just as they killed mum." She sobbed a few more times "Then they shot him too." She said through ragged breaths and began crying again.

"How did you get out?" James asked, almost crying himself, seeing a person this sad.

"I," sob "was watching" sob "from the window" sob. "I was at hockey" she lifted the hoodie to show James her hockey shirt.

James hugged her again. She nuzzled into his chest, she was freezing, James realized.

"I'm James"

"I'm Hannah" came the muffled reply.

They sat like that for a few minutes, and then it started to rain. Hannah made no sign that she had even noticed the rain. After what must have been almost five minutes of sitting getting soaked, James shifted a little "Come on its raining, lets go back to my place." There was no reply. Hanna was fast asleep. He gently lifted her into his arms and stood up. He walked out of the ally and through the empty streets towards his house.

James was woken up by a small scream, followed by quiet sobbing. He clambered up off of his make shift bed on the floor and walked over to his own bed where Hannah was sitting with her hands over her face. She hadn't woken up when he got home so he had tucked her into bed and played his PS3 before hitting the sack himself. Thankful he hadn't slept in his boxers like most nights he sat on the bed beside Hannah and put his arm round her back. "Nightmare?" He asked quietly. She looked around, disorientated. She looked at James, she stared into his eyes for a long moment, and she visibly calmed. All her tensed muscles relaxed and she leaned towards James, then stopped herself and flopped back onto the bed. She was clearly still exhausted; James doubted she'd slept since her parents were killed.

"Thank you James" she said as she drifted off to sleep. James was about to go back to his makeshift bed on the floor, but he couldn't make himself. He quietly headed round to the other side of the bed, and pulled the covers over himself. He lay awake listening to Hannah's breathing; he doubted he would sleep well tonight.

Five minutes later he was fast asleep.

James opened his eyes slowly. He was surprised to find that Hannah was once again snuggled into his chest. His arm was around her waist and their legs were intertwined. He gently tried to untangle his legs from hers with out waking her; afraid she might be annoyed with him for sleeping with her, although it was only in the literal sense. He failed. Hannah's eyes opened sleepily. "James?"

"I'm here," he said as he brought his arm up from around her waist to brush the hair back from her face. "Sorry I Sle…" He began but she lifted her hand and put a finger on his lips.

"Shh. I'm glad you did." She said with a little smile. She pulled herself closer to him and hesitantly leant forward and kissed him. It was like an amazing shock of electricity flowing through James veins, he'd kissed girls before but it had never been like this. Hannah's lips were so perfect; they were so soft and warm. And then they were gone. James opened his eyes, Hannah was looking at him. She looked embarrassed, and maybe a little worried. "I…" she started but then James was kissing her again. Electricity pulsed through James' body as Hannah's lips responded to his. Hannah's tongue brushed James' lips and her mouth opened a little. In seconds they were properly snogging. James wrapped his leg around Hannah's two and pulled her tight against his body. He could feel Hannah sliding her hand across his chest, tracing his pecs with admiration. He wondered what she'd think if he did that to her chest, maybe it was a bit early for that. He rolled over supporting all most all of his weight with his hands and knees, which were now on the bed on either side of Hannah. He drew his lips from hers and began kissing his way along her jawbone and down her neck. He glanced at the clock. "Aw shit," he said as he saw the time, "I gotta shower, dad should be home soon."

"Shower? Crap! James I must be stinking" she said, suddenly awake. She pulled the covers off but stopped as James kissed her again. "I guess it wouldn't matter for a few more minutes." She mumbled, sliding back under the covers.

"Well," James said fifteen minutes later, "we got two showers, a double shower, a corner bath and a normal bath. Take your pick." Hannah appeared to think about something for a minute before asking,

"Which one are you taking?" with a mischievous little smile that James didn't see. "Well I was going to use the double shower, but if you…" he looked down and saw her staring up at him. She smiled again. "Oh. Maybe a bath then." James said, smiling back now. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him as he walked down the corridor.

James froze as he heard the front door open. Sensing his sudden discomfort Hannah stopped kissing him, "What did I do?" she asked in a worried tone, "I'm so sorry, I've never had a boyfriend before." She was about to go on but James kissed her again and she shut up.

"It wasn't you, my dad just got home, that's all." James said, trying to sound reassuring, "he's not keen on me having girl friends. He's convinced I'm going to get some seventeen year old pregnant or something. The mans paranoid, I've never even had sex." James muttered the last bit.

"Hadn't we better get out?" Hannah whispered as the sound of someone storming up the stairs floated under the door. Hannah was lying on top of James with the soapy water lapping up around them. Their clothes were in a pile on the floor by the sink. It had been all James could do to keep his jaw from dropping when Hannah had taken off the baggy jeans and hoodie. Her body was any guys dream, she was curvy with a nice ass, and her tits, wow! James' thoughts were disturbed by a voice outside the door. "James you little shit! Get your sorry ass out here! Now!"

"I'm having a bath," James replied in a slightly raised voice, "I'll be out in five minutes."

"If you're not out here in five SECONDS I'll kick the freakin' door down and come in and get you!" His dad bawled back.

"Dad, what are you so pissed about? I'm kinda busy." James shouted back.

"I'll tell you what I'm pissed about! You're probably one of the best thieves in the whole bloody country and you get caught on video AND by the police robbing a bloody travel agents!" James was about to protest about how his mate had set him up, but he froze as he heard a key sliding into the lock. There was an ominous 'thunk' and the door swung open, smashing into the wall behind it. James' dad strode into the room and froze, staring at the naked girl lying on top of James. "You little son of a bitch!" He said, before charging slightly drunkenly towards the bath with his fist raised. As he brought his fist down towards James and Hannah's heads, James whispered into Hannah's ear "Duck." Instantly Hannah pressed her head flat against James' chest. James grabbed his father's fist as it neared his head and pulled. Already moving fairly fast, James' pull launched his father over the top of the bath, and he smashed head first into the sink. He didn't get up. "You alright?" James asked Hannah, uninterested in his unconscious father.

"Yea," she replied, surprisingly calmly, "I've seen worse than that in the last three days" James smiled at her briefly, and then his face was grim.

"We'd better get out of here, he'll call all his mates to look for us when he wakes up. The further away we are, the better." Hannah nodded and climbed out of the bath, closely followed by James. They rushed through to James' room without bothering to put on towels. James pulled on his combats with the money in them and some boxers. He scooped up and old rangers shirt and pulled it on before grabbing a black metal moneybox and a hunting knife with a six inch blade. He slipped on his trainers without bothering with socks and headed for the door. He stopped. Hannah was standing naked by the door looking slightly amused. "Is there something I can wear?" she asked with a smile.

"Ah," James said a little awkwardly, "yea, oops" he grabbed a pair of shorts and an old T-shirt of his that was too small for him. He threw them to Hannah and jogged down the hall to his half sisters old room for a pair of shoes. When he came back Hannah was dressed and had even thought to put socks on. She pulled on the old trainers without hesitation despite them being a bit big. James rummaged through a cardboard box and found the sheath for his hunting knife, and then they were off, hurrying down the stairs. When they reached the hall, something struck Hannah, "James?" she asked, as he grabbed two jackets from the under stair cupboard,

"Yea?" he replied as he handed her a jacket,

"How are we going to get to wherever we're going without a car?" James opened a drawer and held up two sets of keys.

"The Aston or the BM?" he asked innocently. Hannah grinned at him.

"Aston." They hurried out, locking the door and throwing the keys into the bushes. Hannah stared in awe at the huge house, as James pressed the bleeper to open the garage door. James ducked under before it was even half way up and Hannah heard the roar of a beefy engine. The second the door was open, a smart black Aston Martin rolled out with the passenger door already open. Hannah hopped in and James floored the accelerator, they shot out of the driveway, almost hitting sixty through the estate as James expertly switched up through the gears before slowing down to pull out onto the main road.

Once they were driving at a more sensible speed through the town, Hannah asked what had been bothering her since they got out of the bath. "Where are we going James?" He smiled at her,

"Where would you like to go?" Hannah stared at him, thinking, and then decided to play along.

"Well," she said hesitantly, trying to think of a place she would like to visit. "I've always fancied going to Blackpool" James laughed. He saw the peeved look on Hannah's face and explained.

"I mean anywhere." He said smiling, he looked exited "I was thinking maybe Cyprus, or a cruise, or there's somewhere we could go that I know about, but I wanted to save that for our… I mean… ehm…" James stuttered and went quiet. Hannah waited, but James just blushed a little and said nothing.

"Our what?" She asked, confused and maybe a little hopeful. She smothered the hope quickly before it could cause problems. Why was James so shy all of a sudden, he hadn't been shy in the bath. James opened his mouth to answer but he didn't seem to know the right words. She let him think. When he finally spoke they were leaving the town behind and diving out through the country. "You'll be angry if I tell you." He said glumly.

"No I won't" Hannah assured him, smiling a little. She loved James; in fact, she loved everything about James. His confidence, his smile, his body, his personality. But the thought made her sad. He was so perfect, how long would it be before the novelty wore off and she was left on her own again. She tried to blink away the tears before James saw them, but one escaped. James saw the tear and reached over to wipe it away, "I'm sorry" he said sincerely "I'll tell you what I was going to say, but please don't hate me." Hannah stared at him in disbelief, what could he possibly have to say that could make her hate him?

"I won't," she said, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder, "I promise."

"OK, here goes," James, said quietly "I love you Hannah. I can't get enough of you. Your perfect for me, your special." Hannah was dumbstruck; they were the exact words she'd have used, if she had that much courage. It was like he was reading it out of her mind. And he kept going. "I know that sounds really soppy, but it's the only way I can think of saying it. If it had been any other girl in that ally I would have told them to piss of and not to bother trying to mug me again! I've been thinking about it ever since I found you. I was going to say honeymoon, because I hoped that one day you would marry me." He went quiet. Hannah tried to speak but she was in a state of shock. He had said everything she wanted to hear and more. He'd said exactly what she had been too scared to say to him. He'd -unofficially- asked her to marry him. She was overjoyed, but she was frozen. She wanted to assure James that she loved him too, and that she couldn't possibly hate him for anything, but there was so much rushing through her head she couldn't speak, or even move for that matter.

"If you want me to leave you off somewhere I will." James said quietly, his voice was croaky.

"No," she croaked 'ugh,' she thought 'I'm at it now' "please don't, please" she pleaded.

"Hannah?" James asked, worried "are you all right?"

"James, you just said everything I couldn't get myself to. That is except the marriage bit. I hadn't even thought about that." She said resisting the urge to laugh out loud. But James still looked a little worried, she realised that it sounded like she didn't want to marry him. "Yet" she added with a smile. He hugged her close with his spare arm, smiling with her. "I love you" Hannah said quietly.

"I love you too." James said with a sigh of utter contentment.

James was knackered. It was dark and he'd been driving all day, the clock on the dashboard claimed it was half eleven, but it felt later. Hannah was asleep in the passenger seat. They'd decided to go see an old friend of James' in Ireland before flying out to Hawaii for a few months. They had been driving all day and they still hadn't reached the small town of Braeside where they were going to "sail" from. What Hannah didn't know was that he had used a little of his –and his fathers'- rather vast reserve of money to buy a somewhat more comfortable boat than your average ferry. Up ahead James saw a cluster of lights that must have been Braeside and beyond that the black expanse that was the sea. James gently shook Hannah's shoulder but she was fast asleep. James was about to shake her again, but he noticed a roadside parking space and pulled over. Leaned over quietly and gently placed his lips on Hannah's. He kissed her gently, then a little stronger. He opened his mouth a little, his tongue tracing her lips. And then she was kissing back. After a minute or so James came up for breath.

"Good morning" James said with a grin "Sorry for the rude awakening."

"If only I could wake up to that every morning" Hannah yawned.

"It could be arranged." James laughed as he started the car. As they drove towards the small town, James asked, "Do you want to sail tonight, or get a hotel room and leave tomorrow?"

"If its ok with you, I was hoping to get a few clothes before we leave."

"Sure, no problem." James said picking up his mobile, " There are a few things I want to get in town as well."

Hannah stared out the window while James talked on the phone to some hotel manager or other. She stared at the huge boats as they drove past the docks, looking for the ferry that would take them to Ireland. The only passenger boat she could see was a rusty old ferry that barely looked sea worthy. She pushed the unpleasant thought from her head as she looked around the town for clothes shops. She felt the car slowing and gawked at a huge hotel as they pulled up in front of its large marble steps. A young man walked over and opened the door for Hannah as James climbed out and handed the keys to another man. James came round and took her hand and they walked through the large double doors into a huge lobby with a polished marble floor. James just nodded at a well-dressed man behind the counter and the lift doors opened. Hannah admired the array of buttons, which went from floor 1 through to 20 and then 'LUX'. James pressed 'lux' and grinned at her "wait till you see this."

The lift was so smooth, Hannah didn't even realise it was moving. The doors opened into a wide corridor with a thick cream coloured carpet. There were chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling and the two doors at either end were rich mahogany. Hannah reckoned that it would cost you more to stay in this hall, than it would to stay in an ordinary hotel room. She was about to ask about the price but James whisked her off her feet and carried her to the door labelled "Sea Suite". He winked at the camera above the door and the door slid into the wall like something off Star Trek. She should have noticed that it didn't have a handle. All thoughts of the door were forgotten when she saw the huge waterbed. It was shaped like a circle and had what must have been a fifty-inch television mounted at the end of it. She could see a kitchen and some sort of TV come games room through two doors on her left and on her right there was a huge bathroom and the bedroom she realised she'd been gawking at. Off the bed room there was a large balcony. The doors between the rooms were double doors, made for easy access, 'or fat business men' she thought to herself. They were standing in a sort of living area with comfy –and expensive- looking sofas, chairs and even beanbags placed around the room. There was a long, wide corner sofa at the far side of the room which she was sure she and James could make good use of, after the bed though.

All she could say was "Wow." As James stood her gently on her feet. And she sauntered over to what must have been the beanbag equivalent of a sofa. "This place is amazing." She said, still staring around in wonder. Then rubbing her chest she groaned.

"What?" James asked, a little worried. Hannah laughed at his concern.

"You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to spend the whole day without a bra." She said, bouncing her breasts a little. To be honest it wasn't all that bad, but James didn't need to know that. She stood up and sauntered into the bedroom, casually undoing the tied cords on the front of her shorts. "Could you get me a drink James?" she asked, feigning tiredness. She flopped onto the bed as James disappeared into the kitchen. She pulled off her top lazily; her eyelids felt suddenly heavy and the last thing she heard was the clink of glasses in the kitchen as she faded off to sleep.

James had been a bit disappointed when he had found Hannah asleep, and the sight of her lying topless had been enough to keep him lying awake with his balls aching for hours. He woke up feeling sleepy and content for some reason he just couldn't figure out. He rolled over and came face to face with Hannah's breast. Suddenly he was totally awake.

"Good morning," she said sleepily, she mustn't have been awake long either.

"It sure is now" James said and kissed the breast in front of him, "That's the best damn alarm clock I ever saw."

"Does it beat your little wake up call last night?" She asked, jiggling her chest a little, making her breasts bounce up and down in front of James' nose.

" Definitely." James said, shuffling up the bed to kiss her. He was millimetres from her mouth when there was a knock on the door. He reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and pulled a hotel robe over his boxers. And jogged to the door as James spoke to a young man at the door, Hannah pulled on a slightly smaller robe and headed for the kitchen. She spent a few minutes finding out where everything was, before grabbing a large frying pan and hunting out the various ingredients of a decent fry.

She was frying bacon when James appeared behind her. She jumped, startled as he slid his hands round her waist and snuggling his head into her neck, pulling her tight against his body. She hadn't noticed him creeping in. He kissed her neck as she cooked.

"Your very distracting you know," She said playfully, dropping an egg into the pan. James laughed and went to pour some drinks. There was a tall breakfast bar at the far end of the kitchen, which James set for breakfast. James headed off to get changed while Hannah piled two plates with bacon, eggs, sausage, beans and tomatoes before laying them on the table. James sauntered back in, wearing his combats; he hadn't bothered with a T-shirt. "Show off," She laughed, admiring his exposed muscles, she hadn't really noticed them in the bath – she'd had other things on her mind at the time. James sat down and eagerly tucked into his fry, Hannah suddenly realised how hungry she was. They'd been driving non-stop for the whole of yesterday and had only stopped twice to go to the toilet. She'd not eaten any thing for almost two days! No wander she was starving.

James and Hannah chatted idly about each other's likes and dislikes while they washed the dishes. As they were finishing up, James eyed the ever-widening gap between the two halves of Hannah's hotel robe. "Is there something wrong James?" she asked playfully, fingering the knot on her robe. "You've gone all quiet." She pressed her self up against James and he smiled at her innocently.

"Well," he said slowly, sliding his hands under her bum and lifting her up so he could kiss her, "I happened to notice you eyeing up that big sofa over there last night." Hannah grinned at him and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Oh and I suppose you didn't notice that my robe was so far apart that it was about to fall off my shoulders?" she asked innocently, before sliding her arms out of the robe and wrapping them around James neck, pressing her body tight against his.

"That might have been something to do with it," James mumbled into her neck, kissing his way up towards her mouth as he carried her over to the sofa.

"James?" Hannah asked as he laid her on the sofa.

"Yea?"

"You know how we were talking about getting married 'n' stuff yesterday?"

"Uh hu?" James mumbled, pulling away a little so he could see her face, he looked worried. "I wasn't trying to rush you or anythi…" he started but Hannah put a finger on his lips to quieten him.

"I just wanted to say I would love to marry you. I just thought we might be a bit young at first." James leant forward and kissed her again.

"I love you." He said when he came up for breath. "And anyway, officially, I'm eighteen."

"What?" Hannah asked, shocked. "Your eighteen?"

"No, no," James said calmly "I'm fifteen, but I'm registered as being eighteen. I've got a friend in London who can change the official records."

"I see. That would explain why we drove all day with out getting arrested."

"Yep." He mumbled, kissing her neck again. "You want to go get some clothes later?"

"I dunno, I don't really like wearing clothes when I'm with you." She said, sliding a hand down the back of James' trousers.

"I'm all for you not wearing anything, but we've got a boat to catch at lunch time."

"How about I give you the measurements and you get the hotel to bring me some clothes?" She asked, rolling onto James' chest and pressing her breasts against him.

"Sounds good to me," James said, kissing her again, "but what would you be doing while they were getting your new clothes?"

"Well," she paused "I'd be losing my old ones." She said in a low, almost seductive voice in James's ear. And with that she stood and walked towards the bedroom, slipping her shorts off as she went. James rolled off the couch and followed her eagerly.

Hannah felt amazing. She and James had spent the last two hours making good use of the over sized bed. She was lying back with her arms behind her head. She had more than a few love bites, some of which were in places her mother might not have approved of. She should have felt sad when she thought of her mother, but James was just too perfect. To even dream of being sad with him around was ridiculous. James was rummaging around in the bedside cabinet, looking for something. She was just about to ask him what, when he emerged victorious holding a foil square.

"This hotel doesn't miss a trick does it?" he asked, grinning. Hannah was about to smile back, but thoughts of her mother flashed through her head. She had been a strong Christian and she'd had Hannah promise her one thing for the future. "Hannah," she'd said, "I know you hate it when I lecture you about things, especially from the bible, but please listen to what I have to say. I'm not always going to be around, and you're a big girl now. Try and stick to what I've told you about men, and marriages and swearing and the sort. It would mean a lot to me ." Hannah had scowled at that one but her mother continued. "Oh don't scowl like that, you know I'm probably right. Come on, let's go before I miss countdown."

Her mother had told her that the night before she was murdered. At the time it had sounded like the biggest pile of crap, but now it seemed the only way to honour her mother.

"Once we're married," She said sombrely.

"But…" James started, but when he saw the look on her face and the tears brimming in her eyes he stopped and pulled her close.

"I want to so badly James," she sobbed, "I'm a terrible person."

"No your not, if anyone's in the wrong it's me." James said soothingly, "That wasn't fair to do that.

"You don't understand," she said, still sobbing a bit, "It was like the one thing my told me not to do before I'm married and it's the one thing I want to do the most." She was really crying now.

"Shh, now. It's all right." James said calmingly, "I'm just the same, in fact I'm far worse. We're so perfect together, I know we shouldn't but I'm not as strong as you. I was going to do it anyway." At that she calmed down a little. James held her until she stopped crying.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"I love you James. I want to marry you. I don't care how young we are, I don't care what people think, I just want to be with you forever."

James kissed her passionately, and in that moment, she knew that James wanted her too. She berated her self for being so soppy and kissed him back as the door knocked again.

"I'll sort it out." James said, pulling a robe over his naked body as he climbed reluctantly out of bed. She could hear James talking at the door and tried to make out what they were saying as she pulled the covers around her self and wiped the last remnants of tears from her eyes.

James jogged into the bedroom with a small pile of clothes. Hannah swung her legs out of the bed and watched as James laid out two dresses and four trouser and top sets onto the bed. They looked expensive, -like everything else here-.

"Take your pick." James said with a friendly smile. Hannah examined the various tops and trousers, dismissing the dresses for now. James, who, she saw out the corner of her eye, had just made a rather rude hand gesture towards the open front door, distracted her.

"What was that in aid of?" she asked, slightly annoyed by his rude gesture – even though it wasn't meant for her. James turned her and smiled.

"Sorry." He said quietly, followed by a more loud "But that little shit of a bell boy was staring at you." Hannah wondered for a second why James would be that rude to someone who was only staring, but suddenly realised that she was naked.

"The little sod." She said angrily. "Go sort him out."

"I did." James said with a smile.

"But…" Hannah started, but James interrupted her.

"The last time I was here, my dad broke a bell boys nose for staring." James said, laughing, "That guys probably hiding in the lift shitting himself right now." Hannah would have found that cruel, 'but' she thought 'that guys a creep, staring like that'

She turned her attention back to the clothes. She picked up a black shirt and some skinny jeans and began pulling them on. The shirt hugged her figure, showing off her curves, and the jeans fitted snugly. James grinned.

"They aren't very considerate." James said, feigning irritation.

"How's that?" Hannah asked, smiling as she checked her self in the mirror.

"Well," James said, reaching for his combats, "How do they expect me to drive safely to the docks, with you sitting in the passenger seat looking sexy?" Hannah giggled and kissed him on the nose.

"You like it?"

"Hell yea, but I might have a bit of trouble getting my hands up a shirt that tight." Hannah pretended to fix her bra -which she wasn't wearing- and said, "I don't think you'll need to." As James pulled her to him and kissed her, before stuffing the other clothes into a bag and scooped up his grubby rangers shirt. As he lifted the top over his head, Hannah pressed herself tight against his body. The baggy shirt slid over both of them and Hannah reached up to kiss James again. They kissed for a few minuets before James reluctantly pulled away and muttered something about 'stupid boats' before saying, "We'd better go or we'll miss our boat. Not that I wouldn't rather stay here all day with you up my shirt." Hannah wriggled out the bottom of his shirt and sorted her hair as they headed for the door. As they stepped into the lift Hannah saw the bellboy who had been staring at her. He was a little shorter than average height, but he had wide shoulders and a slightly squint nose that, she guessed, came from playing rugby. She glared at him as the doors closed. He glanced at her chest, before giving her a smug little smile, before wiggling his eyebrows at her, in what he must have thought was a suggestive gesture. He looked James up and down, who was now glaring at him as well. Hannah had a feeling he wasn't far from adding 'Damages to bellboy' to the bill. The boy looked about eighteen and clearly fancied his chances against James, whose impressive physic was hidden by his baggy shirt. He did the lame eyebrow thing again and licked his lips. Hannah saw James' hands twitch, but he glanced at her and relaxed his tensed muscles. "If you do that once more…" he started in a threatening voice, but the bellboy interrupted him.

"You'll what? Batter me?" he asked in a challenging tone. James turned to Hannah very calmly.

"Could you stand just there please Hannah?" He asked, still calm. Hannah shuffled over to where he had pointed and he turned to the bellboy. "Right." He snarled, his fists bunching. The bellboy gave a 'what the hell, its worth a try' sort of shrug and swung a punch at James' stomach. James made no move to stop him. The boy winced and involuntarily as his hand struck James' solid stomach, jarring his wrist. James grinned "My turn." James' hand struck the boy in the stomach before he even knew what was happening. He thumped back against the lift wall, winded. He reacted surprisingly well, swinging his other fist at James' face this time. James' hands were almost a blur as he caught the boy's fist and twisted his arm up painfully behind his back. The guy was so shocked he didn't even make a noise. James whacked his head against the wall and practically growled, "If you make one more move on my girl friend I will batter you." James shoved him away, releasing his hold on the guy, just as the doors opened. "Thanks" He said to Hannah, followed by, "You ok?" when he saw the shocked look on her face.

"Yea." She said weakly as they walked past a shocked looking old rich guy staring at the groaning bellboy. "That was just a bit of a shock, that's all."

"Sorry I frightened you, I can get a little carried away." He said pulling her close to his side as they walked out the revolving doors without stopping to pay.

"It's ok," Hannah said, snuggling into him. "I saw worse things when I was on the street, even if it was only for a few days." When they got to the kerb the Aston was waiting for them. Hannah climbed in as James jogged round to the driver's side. He groaned as he sat down.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asked, worried.

"That guy's a boxer. He's got a punch like a bloody bulldozer." James said, gingerly poking his stomach.

"Why'd you let him punch you?" Hannah asked, relieved it wasn't too serious.

"To scare him." James said with a grin. Hannah laughed as they drove off. Drawing stares from kids walking to school as the black car shot through the streets, slowing only for speed cameras and policemen. James pulled up beside the docks and jumped out glancing around the bay. They headed off towards the large rusting ferry. Hannah began to feel a little uneasy again as she saw the large boat, rust flaking from every surface. They walked to the far side of the ferry and joined a queue of people shuffling slowly towards a scruffy looking man with a captain's cap perched precariously on his bald head. James hugged Hannah close to ward off the cold sea breeze.

They'd only been standing for a few minutes when the roar of a speed boat engine pierced the quiet morning air. Every one turned to watch as the speed boat shot down through the bay, swerving around leaving boats and generally showing off. James stepped out of the line and walked ten metres down the edge of the wharf with Hannah, he was smiling cheerily.

"Here's our ride." He said, laughing as the speed boat splashed a wave of water over a small row boat. The speed boat picked up speed as it headed towards the docks.

"What are you ta…" Hannah started but she stopped as James grabbed her and spun her around, putting his body between Hannah and the sea. The speed boat swung sideways, sending a wave of water crashing into the wharf. The water splashed everywhere as it hit the concrete wall, soaking James' back. He lifted Hannah off the ground as a wave of water washed across the ground. James laid Hannah back on the ground and spun round to confront the laughing speedboater. Hannah couldn't help laughing at James' bedraggled appearance. But she stopped laughing as she realised that she might be about to see another example of James' fighting skills. She was surprised when James laughed. "Shit Harry, you don't have to soak me every time you know!" James shouted, still laughing. Hannah peeked round from behind James to see a tall skinny boy, about a year older than James standing on his boat laughing.

"Hello love birds." He shouted in a deep voice. "Hop aboard."

"That's Harry" James said quietly as he scooped Hannah into his arms "He's a bit of an idiot sometimes." James hopped down onto the boat, still grinning. James and Harry talked as Harry steered the boat away from the docks, and out towards the sea. When James came over to sit beside her Hannah looked at him in wonderment. He smiled at her.

"Where on earth are we going?" Hannah said, grinning with relief as she realised they weren't going on the ferry.

"To get our boat." James said, mysteriously.

"Ok. Are you going to tell me any more?"

"Nope." James said, and then, noticing the goose bumps on Hannah's arms asked, "You want to get up my shirt again? I mean, it's awfully cold." Hannah smiled and was soon snuggled in against James' chest. "How long till we get to the boat Harry?"

"Bout ten minutes." Harry replied, shouting over the sound of the engine. As James turned back to face Hannah, what ever he was about to say was forgotten as she kissed him.

Hannah didn't seem to notice the boat slowing down, so James pretended not to either.

"We're here." Harry said cheerily, but when he turned round he pretended to gag and throw up over the side of the boat. "If you two could get your tongues out of each others throats for a minute, you might get to see your new boat." Hannah reluctantly pulled away from James, sucking on his lower lip as she went, before wriggling out from under James' top to see the boat. James smiled as she gasped at the cruiser. It was tied to a wooden jetty on a private stretch of beach. It was sleek and looked fast, and comfy for that matter. It was about fifteen meters long, ten tall and five wide, giving it a sort of fat look. There was a plank leading up onto the deck. James lifted Hannah out of the boat and up onto the wooden jetty as they floated nearer. As Hannah walked forwards to peer up the gangplank James turned to Harry.

"Did you get the ring?" he muttered quietly in Harry's ear.

"Uh huh." Harry said, stuffing something into James' pocket.

"Thanks. Here's your money" James said handing a large stack of twenties to Harry.

"Thanks mate." Harry said quietly as James turned to climb up onto the jetty. He turned to Harry as if he'd forgotten something.

"Oh, Harry?" he asked, speaking aloud now.

"Yea?" Harry said, looking a little confused.

"I was wondering, would you be our captain? Me and Hannah might be a little busy to drive." James grinned, glancing at Hannah. "If you do, you can have my car."

"Sound!" Harry almost shouted. "The Aston?"

"Unless you want to fight my dad for the Beamer." James said, pleased that Harry would drive, and even more pleased because of the extra time with Hannah. He jumped up onto the jetty and went to stand behind Hannah.

"It's beautiful." She whispered. James laughed, he took Hannah's hand and led her up the gangplank.

"You haven't even seen the inside yet." James said, still laughing. Up on the deck there was a Jacuzzi and some deck chairs. They went down through a door to the living quarters. There was a cosy hall, followed by a large living area. Straight ahead of them was the door to the bedroom, and on the right was a bathroom. There was a kitchen on the left, which looked remarkably like the hotel's kitchen. James peeked into the bedroom and noticed how much bigger it was than the hotel's, though the bed was smaller. Hannah was looking around the rooms as well, though she started with the kitchen. James figured she must like cooking. James flopped onto a long -comfy- sofa and grabbed the TV remote. He flicked through the channels while Hannah looked around the other two rooms. He found mushy looking movie and pulled off his shirt. Hannah wondered over, still staring at everything.

"You like it?" James asked, smiling at her amazed expression.

"I love it." She said excitedly "I dreamed of having a shot in one of these." James smile turned to a grin.

"You never dreamt of owning one?" Hannah's mouth dropped open.

"But these cost…" she started, but James butted in.

"Very little. Now stop worrying about my wallet and enjoy yourself." Hannah laughed as she lowered her self onto James.

"Yes sir." She said, her voice low, and slightly husky as she leant in to kiss him. James slid a hand up the back of her shirt, which was soon lying on the floor.

"There's something I'll have to tell you later." James murmured, sliding a hand under Hannah's bra as she kissed his neck.

"What's that?" she asked quietly into James' ear. James kissed her again.

"I'll tell you later." James' lips halted Hannah's reply.

~ So you decided to tell her about me then? ~ The kakari said, it sounded amused. James stiffened. Shit! I forgot about you! How am I meant tell her about you?

Hannah noticed James' discomfort and pulled back a little, staring into his eyes. James barely even noticed, he was running over all the problems that the kakari would bring.

"What's up?" Hannah asked, concerned. James dragged himself back to reality. He thought frantically for an excuse. He was still thinking when her heard footsteps on the deck.

"Harry's coming." Hannah grabbed for her T-shirt while James pretended to look for his. ~Well, I think she likes you. She might not mind it, in fact she might even like me.~ The kakari was being unusually talkative, and James wasn't liking it.

Oh yea, sure. I'm not even human thanks to you! I'm sure she'll love that.

~She loves you, and you're a, sorry the kakarifer.~

But I'm immortal! When she's seventy I'll still look fifteen! That is, if you weren't talking crap when you told me that.

~Look, if your going to get messed up about this I suppose I could help out.~

How?

~I could bond her.~

But then the roles would just be switched round, she'd be inhuman and I'd be the one who dies of old age with a fifteen-year-old wife!

~I don't mean bond me to her; I mean bond us to her. I could be in both of you.~

You mean, like, we would share you?

~It would be more like me doubling myself.~

You can do that?

~No, but I have enough power to bond ten of you little humans. I could bond us to her, but her power would not be as potent as yours.~

Because I'm the kakarifer?

~Yes. But know this; I'm doing this because I feel it's right, not because of you. I don't care how much you beg, it will only be this one human that I will bond to us.~

No problem. A wave of joy washed over James, he would have Hannah forever. James began to plan out what he'd say to Hannah, but his thoughts were interrupted by someone's voice.

"Your standing on it." Hannah said, pointing at James' feet. It took James a few seconds to realise what was going on. He scooped his shirt off the floor as Harry walked through the door with out knocking.

"Don't tell me you two were at it already!" He said, laughing his deep laugh. "Your dad would flip if he saw you two at that." James smiled ruefully.

"He did." James said grimly. Harry's laugh died in his throat.

"What? See you two at it or flip?"

"Both. We were in the bath." Harry made a face, and then laughed.

"Hence the bruise?" Harry asked. James stared at Harry, confused. Harry nodded at his stomach, where a large round bruise bigger than James' hand had already formed.

"Shit. Na, that was some eighteen year old bulldog who was hitting on Hannah."

"He managed to hit you?" Harry said, disbelief written across his face. James laughed,

"No way, I let him." Hannah looked a little surprised when Harry nodded. Most guys' mates wouldn't believe a story like that, James thought to himself.

"I bet he shat himself." Harry said, grinning.

"He didn't get the chance." James said grinning with him. James' fighting skills were well known amongst his friends, it seemed. "When'll we get to Ireland?"

"Probably tomorrow morning, I'll have to stop over night cause we're due a storm."

"Ok." James said, grinning harder. This day was just getting better and better. "So, to what do we owe this badly timed visit?" Harry laughed.

"I thought you might want to know that the sun's out. If you fancy coming up for breath at any point I'd like to get to know Hannah a little better." Harry smiled at Hannah and walked out.

"Don't tell me he's going to end up with a broken nose as well." Hannah said, grimacing.

"Don't worry about it, Harry's gay." James assured her, pulling her close and grabbing her arse as they kissed.

"I can see why." She murmured as they tumbled back onto the sofa, "I like guys."

"Huh!" James said, incredulous "I really can't see what's so good about us. I mean, women have so much more to grab onto." As he spoke he slid his hand back up her shirt.

"You make everyone sound like a slut." Hannah said, smiling into James' neck as she ran her hand along his biceps.

"And you make it sound like you're one."

"Oh and I suppose you think I'm not?"

"Your not a slut, just eager." James said, smiling.

"If you say so." Hannah said, smiling back.

"I do." James said with a grin, staring into one and others eyes for a moment, then they were kissing again.

James had had a great day. They'd finally 'come up for breath' as Harry put it, at about two. They'd had a quick lunch in the big kitchen before heading out onto the deck and chatted to Harry while he steered. They'd gone for a quick dip in the Jacuzzi before tea, much to Harry's distress.

"How am I meant to steer with you two splashing about right in front of me?" He'd asked, more embarrassed than annoyed.

But now James was nervous. He'd had a great day, but it might be his last if he screwed this up. Harry had weighed anchor for the night and, on James' request, agreed to cook them a romantic dinner. As James waited for he waited for Hannah to return from the bathroom, the engagement rings in his pocket felt like ten tonne weights. The amount of time he'd spent discussing the bond with the kakari wasn't helping him, despite his hopes.

Hannah appeared from the bathroom. She smiled at him as she walked over. She had a very feminine -translation = sexy- walk, James thought. Her hips swayed from side to side, drawing him in. James smiled back, hiding his nervousness well. Years of stealing from anything that moved (and plenty of things that didn't) made good practice for pretending to be calm.

James and Hannah talked about their old lives while they ate. Hannah told him about her hockey and her friends and even a little about her brother. James told Hannah about his stealing and about all the places he'd been. They talked about little moral issues like killing people, which James had done plenty of when he had been out on jobs for his dad (who made most of his money as a hit man). It was a very deep conversation, which lightened up when they reached desert. They were talking about food fights when Harry came to take their bowls away. James thanked Harry as he brought them through some After Eights and tea. Hannah told him how much she had enjoyed the meal and turned to James. His palms got suddenly sweaty.

"You said you had something to tell me 'later'" Hannah said, confirming James' fears.

"You might freak out if I tell you." James warned her.

"The last time you said something like that you made my day, in fact you made my life." Hannah smiled encouragingly as she said this.

"This is different."

"I'm ready."

"I'll start with this then." James said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the box containing the rings. Hannah jaw dropped, but she looked happy. James opened one box and placed it in the middle of the table. Hannah appeared to be speechless. "I won't get down on my knees yet, because I have to tell you something first." Hannah nodded, managing to close her mouth. James wondered how to start. He drew on a little magic and made sure that Harry couldn't hear them before he started.

"I'm not exactly human." He said hesitantly. A small smile touched Hannah's eyes but then died when she saw the expression on James' face.

"How?" she asked simply, giving nothing away in her tone.

"I know this will all sound stupid but I'll prove it for you as I go along." Hannah nodded. "I'm immortal. I won't prove that one, because it's sort of painful, but when I die, I come back to life again. It's just like healing, except more extreme. I don't age, though I'm already fully mature. I know this sounds like something out of a bad film, but its true. I'm a kakarifer, the holder of the kakari if you will. The black kakari is an ancient item of incredible power that bonds it's self to people. The black kakari is often called the devourer, because that's what it does. It devours things, bullets, blades, poisons, the lot. There used to be more kakari, (though they were but imitations of the black) but all have been lost or destroyed. The kakari grants me many abilities I know of, and many more I don't know of. I think that's everything." James finished with a halfhearted smile, knowing he may well just have thrown away the love of his life. Hannah had a thoughtful expression on her face.

Did I miss anything?

~I think you got the basics.~

Hannah appeared to think her answer through carefully, before finally speaking.

"I really want to believe you James," she said, it was a simple statement, but it gave James hope. " And I know your not joking with me. You said you could prove it?" James nodded and smiled, pleased with how the conversation was going.

"I'll start with the magic. What would you like me to do?" James asked.

"Erm… I don't know, surprise me." She smiled and rested her head on one hand. She actually smiled! James couldn't believe it. Tears wouldn't have surprised James but he hadn't seen a smile coming.

"Ok, watch the candle." James drew on his glore vyrden* (*The part of the mind where magic is stored.) and created a vacuum around the candle, snuffing it out. Hannah eyes widened a bit and she smiled again, but James wasn't finished. He fed oxygen to the smoking wick and the candle re-lit. He fed more oxygen to the flame, and added fire of his own, sending a tall thin flame flickering towards the ceiling. He shaped it intricately, spelling out Hannah's name and drawing a detailed flower with the flame. Hannah's jaw dropped again. James returned the flame to its normal size, releasing the magic.

"So that's magic?" Hannah asked smiling again, a nervous smile this time.

"A tiny example of it, yea."

"So it can do more?"

"Hell yea."

"And the kakari?" She asked, she seemed almost interested, if not intrigued.

"This is the kakari." James said, holding out his palm. A thick black liquid pooled in his hand, forming a sphere. Hannah took it cautiously.

"It won't do anything." James said reassuringly. Hannah turned it over in her hands, looking at it. There wasn't much to see, it was just a slightly shiny black ball.

"What does it do?" she asked, "Other than make you immortal 'n' stuff." Hannah held it flat in her hand and James called it to him. It hopped from her hand and sunk back into James'.

"It does quiet a lot of extraordinary things but the main few things are that it can make me invisible, it devours things and I can see the unclean."

"Invisible?" she asked, both amazed and intrigued by the idea. She laughed with joy as James disappeared. James couldn't believe it, but apparently she could. He let the kakari sink back into him

"You're not freaked out?" James asked, delighted.

"A little," she admitted leaning over the table to kiss him "It might take a while to sink in.

"Yea, I'm sure it will." James glanced at the rings on the table. Hannah noticed his glance and followed it. James saw her running through all the options in her mind.

"It can't work can it?" she asked solemnly. "I'll be seventy and you'll still be fifteen." James grinned at her.

"I figured it out." He said cheerily.

"What?" Hannah asked Her mood lifted a little by James' cheeriness.

"If you're willing, the kakari can bond us."

"What do you mean?"

"The way it bonds to people, it can bond us together. It can bond you to its self, and to me." James asked, smiling encouragement. "But if you agree, the bond wont be broken. It wont be possible. We'll feel each other's feelings and thoughts whenever we wish, and you'll have all the abilities I just told you about. It'll be like marriage on another level, forever. Even the price of immortality -which is the death of a loved one, by the way- wont be able to separate us." Hannah's eyes were alive with joy, this, James realized was her greatest fantasy come true. Her and James together for ever, it was James' dream too.

"James, there is nothing in the world I want more than to be with you. Of cour…" Hannah stopped as James kissed her. It was a long loving kiss and both were disappointed when it stopped. James grinned cheekily at her.

"You have to wait for the question first." He said, scooping the ring off the table. He was about to drop to his knew when he realised something, he didn't know Hannah's last name. In fact, she didn't know his either.

"Hannah?" he asked, a little embarrassed, "What's your last name?" Hannah laughed.

"Williamson" She said smiling as she realised she didn't know James' last name. "What's yours?"

"Adams" he replied, before dropping to his knees. Hannah shuffled around in her seat to face him, smiling uncontrollably. "Hannah Williamson," James started, all thoughts of nervousness gone, "you are the light of my very existence, the only person who will ever matter to me in what is inevitably going to be a very long life. Hannah Williamson, will you marry me?"

"Yes James," Tears of joy running down her face, "yes, I'll do anything. All I want is to be with you for ever." The kakari rushed onto the ring as James took it from the box, turning the purple diamonds black. The tiny rubies and sapphires embedded in the diamonds sparkled as James slid the ring onto Hannah's finger. The kakari rushed into Hannah, James felt her intense joy and her longing for him through the bond. He was sure she was feeling the same thing. Then, before James could even think, Hannah was kissing him with ferocity and a vigour James had never known she had in her. They tumbled to the floor kissing madly, still lying on the thick carpet. James was vaguely aware of Harry clapping from the kitchen, but the only person James was interested in was Hannah, his fiancée. I'm going to get married. Was his last conscious thought, before he was drawn in to Hannah. Their minds were one and their bodies weren't far from it. Life was perfect for James, and it was only going to get better. He couldn't wait for their honeymoon. James suddenly realised Hannah was in his mind with him and hid the location of their honeymoon away back in his head. Any way, James had more important things to think about.

Hannah woke with a start. The first thing she was aware of was James. He was hugging her close to him, Hannah's face was snuggled into his neck, and they were both topless. The next thing Hannah noticed was the floor, which proved last night hadn't been a dream. Phew. James and Hannah had kissed long night, though kissing was the wrong word because James' hands (and lips) quite often strayed from Hannah's. Not that she hadn't done the same. The kakari had spoken to her while she slept, filling her in on all the details, all of which she now seemed to know. James was still asleep; Hannah could feel it through the bond. It didn't last. The door clicked open, and muffled footsteps made their way across the carpet. Hannah noticed that James was awake now, though he didn't show any sign of it. Harry stood over them holding a bucket of seawater in his hands. He lifted the bucket, ready to throw it all over James and Hannah, but as he brought it to chest height, James' hand shot out from underneath the covers. James wrapped his arm around Harry's ankles and pulled sharply. Harry collapsed backwards, poring the freezing seawater all over himself.

"Shit!" he gasped as James and Hannah burst out laughing. "I was only coming to tell you that we're here!"

James laughed as he climbed up off of the floor, throwing Hannah her T-shirt and searching for his own. As Hannah stood up it was Harry's turn to laugh.

"James you dirty boy!" he said, still laughing. James turned round and smiled at Hannah,

"Oops." He said, still smiling. Hannah turned to a mirror. She smiled too when she saw all the love bites. They were all over her upper body, the majority in the chest area. 'James' lips strayed a lot more often than I'd thought.' She laughed to herself. There were two on her neck, four across her upper chest, and there must have been at least ten all over her breasts. One of them was around her nipple, she could remember getting that one. There were even a few on her stomach and one just below her trouser line, she noticed as she stretched. James had a fair few dotting his body, but not as many as Hannah.

"Well," Harry said, standing up "I'll let you two have some privacy. If you want to, later on we could go for lunch in town."

"Sure," James said, pulling Hannah close before she could get her shirt on "See you later."

"See you later guy's, and by the way, congrats on the wedding thing man." Harry shouted back as he walked out the door. Hannah snuggled into James' chest. Since the bond, the lightning that arched through her every time they touched had intensified. Hannah leaned against James' chest, admiring her ring.

"It's beautiful." She said simply. There was no other word to describe it.

"Are you sure you like it? I can get you a different one if you want." James said, but when he felt the rush of feelings Hannah was having, he knew it was the right ring.

"I love it." She said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"So what kind of wedding do you want?" He asked her, lifting her into his arms.

"I don't really know. I've always dreamt of a big fancy church wedding, but we've got no one to invite."

"You sure you don't want to invite anyone?"

"Well, I could invite Katy. She was my best friend at school, but my only other relative is an old faggot of a Gran who might not approve."

"Ok, I'll see that she gets invited. I could bring some of my mates if you want, but it might be more romantic with less idiotic thugs in the isles."

"Surely all your friends aren't 'idiotic thugs'"

"Nope, some of them are smart thugs, which even worse." Hannah laughed. "How about this, you invite Katy and I'll invite Laura. Harry can be my best man."

"Who's Laura?"

"She's my sister. She left four years ago to live in France, and to get away from dad. We were pretty close."

"Cool, you never told me you had a sister."

"I kinda forget about stuff when I'm with you." James blew a raspberry on Hannah's bare stomach and she laughed, gently slapping his head away.

"Stop it." She giggled.

"When do you want the wedding?"

"Oh, as soon as possible I should think." Hannah said, smiling as James laid her down gently on the bed.

"A weeks time?"

"Sounds good."

"And the honeymoon?"

"Surprise me."

"I hoped you'd say that." James swung his leg over her and kissed her bare stomach. He continued to kiss all the way up to her mouth, lingering a little at her breasts. Hannah looked down at the love bite around her nipple.

"Ha, I look like a panda."

"Hmm?" James murmured, confused.

"My tits, they're like panda eyes." James laughed.

"I can make them match if you want." He said, smiling.

"I might just take you up on that." Hannah said, giggling as James' eyes widened, along with his smile.

James wondered down the street, holding Hannah's hand in his. They'd met Harry for lunch in a fancy restaurant, before heading out to do some shopping.

James glanced at the various shops in the main street. They were almost at the end of the street when they saw the wedding shop.

"Oh, James!" Hannah said excitedly, "A wedding shop!" James had already seen the shop, but played along.

"Ha, that's handy. You want to go in?"

"You kidding? Let's go." Hannah admired the dresses in the window while James read a list of the top wedding venues in the area. They walked in the door and were surprised to find three more doors. They were labelled; BRIDE, GROOM, and GENERAL VIEWING in flowing gold script.

"What do we come under?" James wondered, "We're only here for a look."

"Well you probably come under bride." Hannah said, smiling at him.

"Ha ha. Look, why don't you ring Katy and I'll ring Laura, then we can come back some other time with people to help us chose."

"Ok. Good idea." Hannah said and the trailed back out into the street. James bought Hannah a new mobile, and they rung up their guests. Hannah and Katy got all giggly and squeaky, which looked really weird when someone was on a phone, so James reckoned that Katy would be present. Laura was not so bouncy.

"Laura hi."

"James? Is that you, you little prick?"

"Nice to hear you're in good form."

"Where are you?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Coz dad's goin' mental! He thinks you're away hiding somewhere popping out babies with that slut of a girlfriend."

"One, Hannah is not a slut," James said calmly, "and two, she's not my girlfriend anymore."

"Oh, so you've knocked her up and then dumped her have you? Dad's gonna be pleased with that." Hannah was off the phone and listening in now.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did, you said…"

"That she wasn't my girlfriend anymore."

"Hang on, have you…"

"She's my fiancée" Laura's end of the phone went silent. After almost two whole minutes she managed to speak.

"W… wh… what?" She stuttered, trying to make sense of it.

"I'm going to marry Hannah." There was a whoosh of air as Laura fell into a seat.

"You jammy little sod. No wonder you ran away from dad."

"Is he with you?"

"No, way. Is she pregnant?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure? Cause you guys did have… Didn't you?"

"Nope."

"No shit."

"So, do you want to come to the wedding?"

"When is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure, in about a week's time."

"A week? How long has this been going on? Dad said he found you guys romping about four days ago."

"I proposed last night."

"Do her parents know about this?"

"Her parents aren't around anymore."

"Oh." Laura said, the sombre note in his voice shutting her up.

"It's a good job too," James said, lightening the mood, "She's got love bites in places no mother would approve of." James winked at Hannah who laughed.

"You dirty boy," Laura laughed, "Of course I'll come."

"Great, but don't tell dad."

"No probs, when he rung I told him I didn't give a toss where you were or who it was you were tossing about with." It was James' turn to laugh.

"What'd he say to that?"

"I think he broke the phone."

"That's dad for you."

"So where are you?"

"I'm in some little town or other about an hour from Dublin, it's on the coast."

"Ok, see you soon. Oh and James?"

"Yes, I'm sure Hannah will let you help her pick a dress."

"Thanks James."

"Don't thank me, thank Hannah."

"THANKS HANNAH!"

And then she was gone, leaving James rubbing his tender ear. Hannah grinned,

"Is she coming then?"

"Yea," James said, smiling. He was happy his sister would be there. "What about Katy?" Hannah grinned harder.

"She can come, but she decided to tell her mum that she's going on a shopping trip in Dublin with Jade."

"Whose Jade?"

"An old friend of ours, but she moved to Ireland years ago. We've never heard from her."

"Cool. Let's go find Harry." James and Hannah set off down the street hand in hand, looking out for the hotel Harry was staying in. They were about half way there when James noticed a big man pretending to speak into his mobile on the other side of the street a little behind them. He watched the man while Hannah told him about Katy. It was just as James thought; the big man was following them. As Hannah finished what she was saying James said looked down at her smiling, but when he spoke his voice was grim.

"We've got a tail."

"What?" Hannah asked, confused. Then it struck her. James drew on a little magic, enhancing his hearing and sight. He watched as the man took the phone from his ear and began dialling a number. James listened to the key tones, noting the number in his head. 8, 5, 3, 3, 6, it was all James needed; the man was ringing his dad. James darted into an ally, pulling Hannah with him. As he disappeared around the corner James was pleased to see the man jam the phone into his pocket and jog across the street, looking alarmed. James spoke quickly to Hannah.

"This guy's working for my dad, if we shake him he'll just ring dad. I'm going to have to have a little chat with him, so just go invisible and don't move. Ok?"

"Yea, see you in a mo." Hannah said, checking both ends of the ally before disappearing. James followed her, seeing her only through magic. She crouched down behind a bin and froze, staying unbelievably still. It had taken James years to learn how to do that, how was she so good? James suddenly realised that if he knew how to do it, then the bond meant she did too. The kakari leaked from James skin, forming claws on his hands and feet. It took him a few seconds to get them right; the kakari just slid through the wall like butter if he let it. He dug the claws into the wall and climbed quickly up towards the roof. Seconds later the big man crept carefully into the ally, his hand inside his jacket, no doubt clutching a gun. He took four cautious steps into the ally before James dropped to the ground behind him, timing his landing perfectly with his fifth step.

"Fancy a grown man being scared of an unarmed little boy like me." He growled from behind the man. The big man spun round with surprising speed, whipping a silenced pp7 from his coat. Before the man's trigger finger could so much as twitch, James grabbed his arm and spun the man into an excruciating arm lock. James kicked the man in the balls from behind, before smacking his head off the wall and throwing him to the ground. He scooped the gun from the ground and examined it while the man tried to hold his bleeding head and aching shoulder at the same time.

"Who do you think you are? James Bond? Honestly, thugs these days, they're not what they used to be." James said, calmly.

"Go fuck yourself you spoilt brat." The thug spat. James punched the man in the guts. Though when he spoke he was still calm.

"Mind your language young man, there are ladies present." Hannah stood up from behind the bin, now fully visible. Then James was serious. "How many are there of you here?"

"Go…" the man started, but James punched him in the stomach again.

"How many?"

"Just me." The man spluttered, winded.

"How'd you know I was here?"

"I didn't" James hit him again.

"I swear, I came to speak to Harry. His dad said he'd be here."

"Right. I would kill you, but I don't want to be too brutal in front of my beautiful fiancée here."

"Ha! That fucking whore's not worth shit!" James bottled his rage, and turned to Hannah. What do you say? Should I kill him for that or let him go and hunt him down if he tells my father anything?" Hannah scowled and kicked the man in the kidneys in a very un-lady like fashion before speaking.

"You're lucky I was here, you wanker." She growled, and James nodded.

"Right mate, you are going ring up my dad and tell him you've checked out the town and spoken to Harry. You've found nothing and know you're away to America to spend the money you got for looking for me. I have friends all over this country and if you come back in the next six months I will personally hunt you down and kill you." The man spat blood onto the pavement and stood up.

"Fine." James saw deceit in the man's eyes, and the mask of judgement rushed over his face.

"I'm not kidding." As the mask disappeared back into his skin, the thug's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, before running for the other end of the ally as fast as his legs could carry him. James casually checked his clothes for blood before extending his hand towards Hannah. She took it and laughed. James laughed with her as they headed for the hotel. Wow, James thought I'm getting married.

It had been two days since Hannah had rung Katy, and she was due to arrive tonight. Laura would fly in tomorrow according to James, so this would be their last time alone until after the wedding, which was going to be on Wednesday, three days from now. Hannah was determined to make the most of it. She wandered through from the bedroom after a long lie to find James watching football. She wore a miniskirt and the tight black top she'd worn when they left the hotel. She'd picked the short skirt on purpose, she would never have worn something so revealing before she met James. James had been trying to resist temptation by keeping his hands strictly to her upper body, well, most of the time. James noticed her mood through their bond and both the TV and his shirt were off in the blink of an eye.

"Good morning." He said, smiling at her, and then her skirt.

"It's about to be." She said, lying on sofa beside him. He put his arms around the small of her back, pulling her close to him. He kissed her neck and made his way up towards her lips. She pulled the neckline of her top down with magic, shrugging out of the arms. Pressing her breasts against his chest she kissed him as he reached her lips. James' hands began to slide in different directions as their kissing became more intense. Hannah's tongue explored James' mouth as his hand slid over her skirt onto her thigh. His other hand running up her stomach to feel her breasts. Hannah's lips gradually drew away from James', making their way down his neck. James' hand continued up her thigh and under her skirt. He paused, as he found no knickers under the skirt.

"You have a very confident view of my will power." James murmured in her ear as she felt the bump in his jeans grow.

"At least one of us does." She said, rolling over so she was on top of him and splitting her legs a little. It was then that they heard a quiet, "oh." from the direction of the door. They both froze. It was followed by a "Shh".

"I think that's Laura and Katy." James whispered in her ear. He sounded like he was about to laugh. Hannah realised they couldn't see them because of the back of the sofa. She pulled her shirt up from around her waist, and James' hand removed it's self from Hannah's skirt to look for his. Not finding it they stood up and looked towards the door. Hannah recognised Katy's petite features and an older looking Laura than the picture James had shown her from his black box. They stood awkwardly for a minute before James made an attempt at speech. "Oh, erm, hi." He stuttered. "We were just erm…"

"Making like a pair of randy rabbits." Laura finished for him, laughing "We noticed." Hannah blushed as Katy smiled, looking her up and down. James hugged Laura, while Hannah Katy giggled at each other.

"Can it be?" Katy giggled, "Hannah in a miniskirt?" Hannah hugged her before turning to James. He put his arm around her waist kissed the top of her head. He looked at Laura,

"Laura," he said, starting off the introductions, "This is my fiancée Hannah. Hannah, this is my sister Laura." They shook hands.

"Nice to meet you Laura. I hear you and Katy are going to help me with my dress."

"You betcha." Laura said, obviously pleased.

Hannah turned to Katy. "Katy, this is - believe it or not – my fiancée, James." Hannah said, blushing again. "James, this is my best friend Katy."

"Nice to meet you Katy." James said, shaking her hand. Katy admired his powerful muscles, James noticed, and to Hannah's surprise, went to find his t-shirt. Not many guys would do that when they noticed a pretty girl like Katy looking at them.

'But she's not as pretty as you and, no offence; she's a bit slutty.' James' thoughts wandered through her head.

'You can hear my thoughts?' Hannah said, panicking a little as she led their guests into the living room. What else had he heard?

'Apparently so. But only some of them.' Hannah breathed a sigh of relief as James walked in, looking as worried and confused as she must. She smiled reassuringly. He smiled back. Just being in the same room as James made Hannah feel good.

'Me too'

'Dammit!' Hannah could feel James laughing through the bond.

James was knackered. Talking was as much work as hard labour. They had spent the afternoon catching up with their respective guests, and then becoming acquainted with each other's guests. They'd gone out for a meal at the fancy restaurant Harry had showed them at teatime, talking more still. It was nine by the time they'd gone a walk down the beach, and everyone had decided to turn in when they got in. James yawned as they bundled in the door.

"So which sofa have you guys not been making out on?" Laura asked, glancing around the room. Katy giggled. Throughout the day James had come to realise that Katy giggled an awful lot. James and Hannah looked at each other, Hannah blushed. "Ok, let me narrow it down, which sofa have you guys not been half naked on?" James smirked and Hannah blushed harder.

"Half?" James said smiling at Laura's sudden embarrassment.

"Sorry guys, I guess that was kind of personal."

"Well you gotta sleep somewhere I suppose." James said, looking around. "There, and there." He said, pointing to two of the six sofas.

"Thanks James. G'night guys." Laura yawned, flopping onto the larger of the two sofas.

"Yea, night guys." Katy said, sitting delicately on the other.

"G'night." James and Hannah said in unison. Their surprised expressions were too much for the other two who burst out laughing. James and Hannah took advantage of the distraction to nip into the bedroom before the 'no sex' comments started. Hannah pulled her top off and threw it under the bed. James watched as she headed for the bathroom.

"I'll be back in a minute." She said in a soft, inviting voice. James grinned and flopped into bed, yawning uncontrollably. By the time Hannah got back, James was asleep.

Hannah was woken by the sound of the door opening. She couldn't be arsed to see who it was so she just snuggled further into James' chest, resting her head on his arm. She was glad the kakari meant James couldn't have B.O. James must have been woken as well, because he reached down and pulled the covers up over what was visible of Hannah's bare chest. Hannah was almost asleep when whoever it was who'd come in decided to wake them up. Laura and Katy banged pots that had no doubt been hijacked from the kitchen against each other right above James and Hannah's heads. A shout of 'wakey wakey' died in Laura's throat as James yanked her onto the bed. Hannah followed James' example, grabbing Katy's hand and pulling her onto the bed. James swung his leg over his older sister, pinning her down while he tickled her. Hannah however, knowing her friend wasn't ticklish, -and also knowing that she didn't have any clothes on- stayed under the covers and grabbed the various clips and hair bands from Katy's hair and threw them to the ground. Hannah knew that it took Katy more than half an hour to do her hair every morning.

By the time James was finished with Laura she was laughing so hard she could barely breath, while Katy was staring at her self in a mirror, horror written across her features. Hannah laughed at Laura and James laughed at Katy as they tried to pull themselves together.

James wriggled back under the covers and pulled Hannah close to his side. He slid his other hand down Hannah's stomach, heading for her thighs.

"James, I can see where your hand is beneath those covers," Laura warned him. James' hand stopped moving, a mixture of disappointment and relief washed through the bond, unbidden. James' hand rested where it was, sitting between the tops of her thighs, but not really touching anything further down. He traced patterns on her skin absentmindedly. Laura cocked an eyebrow, but James didn't notice.

"Good morning to you too. Anyway, what business is it of yours what we're doing under the covers?" Laura blushed a little, but covered her embarrassment well. As Katy gradually recovered from her hair incident, Laura turned to speak to Hannah, who was absentmindedly twirling James' blond curls with her finger. They couldn't keep their hands off each other.

"So, do you want to go find a dress today?" Laura asked, obviously eager to get away from James.

"Yea sure. You got any ideas in mind?" Hannah asked, oblivious to the stare of hatred she was getting from Katy as she attempted to sort her hair. Laura glanced at James, before answering.

"Yes, but they're not for the grooms ears." James laughed, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. Ignoring Katy's ogling at his muscled as he pulled himself effortlessly off his feet as if doing a chin up to look into the cubbyhole above the wardrobe. He grabbed something before dropping down and heading for the door.

"I'm going for a drink with Harry. Give me a ring when you girls finish your girly stuff. If you want to treat me to a luxury suit for the wedding feel free." Laura scowled at him.

"You might want to put a shirt on before going out." James glanced down at himself.

"Oops." While James was searching through the drawers for a clean shirt Hannah turned to glare at Katy who was still staring at James. She looked at her, apologetic. 'You're so lucky." She mouthed, making various gestures showing off James' strength.

"If anything Katy, I'm the lucky one." James said, not even turning from comparing two shirts. Katy went the deepest shade of red Hannah had ever seen. She appeared to visibly shrink. Laura noticed the fading round bruise on James' stomach.

"Who hit you?" she asked, smiling. James laughed.

"What makes you think someone hit me?"

"Because you're always showing off. What better way to scare the shit out of your opponent than let them hit a washboard like that?" James laughed again.

"Some boxer or other, I think he was about eighteen."

"What were you fighting over this time."

"He was hitting on Hannah." Laura laughed,

"You're paranoid James. I bet he wasn't, you just wanted a fight. You must have been pumping weights since I left to get muscles like that."

"He's not kidding, the guy was a freak. He kept doing this lame thing with his eyebrows." Laura laughed again.

"Honestly, you two lovebirds stickin' up for each other. I don't know how much more I can take." James left and everyone turned to look at Katy, who was still blushing. Hannah burst out laughing, followed by Laura. Katy smiled, then laughed with them.

"What?" she said as they calmed down, "Your sooo lucky. He's totally hot."

"Katy! That's not why I'm going to marry him!" Katy stared at her feet. Hannah smiled. "Not the only reason anyway." They laughed, Hannah was glad to be with her friend again. She really loved being with James, but it was nice to be going out with a couple of girlfriends as well.

"Well," Laura said jumping up, "are we going to look for this dress or not?"

James was feeling stressed. He was usually pretty laid back, but James was about to get bawled at and he didn't like it. Between him and Hannah they had decided that they should extend an invitation to his father, who still thought James was pumping Hannah in an abandoned warehouse somewhere. It was the middle of the night and James couldn't sleep. He eased himself out of bed, trying not to wake Hannah. Hannah however, must have felt his nervousness through the bond because her eyes flickered open.

"What's wrong?" She asked sleepily, sitting up.

"I'm going to ring my dad."

"Now?"

"The wedding's the day after tomorrow. He'll need time to get here if he wants to come."

"Ok, but its kinda the middle of the night."

"I don't think he'll mind. He doesn't sleep much anyway."

"Ok." Hannah said sitting beside him and taking his hand. She was fully clothed, her silky brown hair lying on her back loosely. What with their guests and the wedding, Hannah and James had practically no time to themselves during the day, and by the time they got to bed at night they were too knackered to so much as brush their teeth. James scooped up his phone, making sure anti-tracking was on before punching in his dad's mobile number. It rung once before his dad picked up.

"Yea?"

"Dad?"

"James where the hell are you?" James' dad sounded tired.

"I'm not going to tell you yet."

"Yet?"

"Dad, I want to ask you something."

"What?" James' dad sounded suspicious; at least he's not angry. Yet. James thought to himself.

"I'm going to get married. Would you like to come?" James listened carefully. There was a rush of air at the other end of the phone, and then the call cut off. James put the phone down.

"I don't think he's coming." James said, breathing a sigh of relief. Hannah was about to speak when the phone rung. James picked it up warily. Hannah squeezed his hand.

"Hello?" James said hesitantly.

"James, sorry about that. I kinda dropped the phone." James laughed despite himself. His dad sounded apologetic, almost.

"So, eh."

"Are you really? Getting married I mean."

"Yea." James said smiling, was that a hint of pride in his father's voice?

"Why?"

"Because I love Hannah."

"Hannah." James' dad seemed to role the word over his tongue, trying it out. "Is she pregnant?" he asked, his voice low and a little sad, as if he knew the answer. James winked at Hannah and brought his hand out in a large circle over his stomach.

"Well," he said hesitantly, "It's a bit early to tell,"

"Oh." His father said quietly.

"Let me finish."

"Fine."

"As I was about to say before I was rudely interrupted, it's a bit early to tell, but if she is, the wedding's off."

"What?"

"Dad, Hannah's not pregnant."

"But you have…"

"Nope."

"No shit?"

"No shit."

"Sure I'll come, when is it?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Where?"

"Some town about an hour north of Dublin. I think it's the only one with a pebble beach."

"Oh yea, that's Draightown. I'll see you tomorrow evening."

"See you dad."

"Oh and James?"

"Yea?"

"Thanks. This really means a lot to me. I should have had more faith in you."

"No problem dad. See you soon. Bye."

"Bye." The phone went dead. James stared at it in wonder. Had his dad just accepted an invitation to his fifteen-year-old son's wedding, with out even raising his voice? Wow. James turned to Hannah.

"What?" she asked, worried, "It sounded like everything went fine." James realised his face must have been pretty hilarious.

"It did. He's coming. Wow." Hannah laughed at him.

"You looked like someone had just told you that you'd swallowed a time bomb or something." James flopped back onto the bed, relieved. Hannah snuggled into his side, sighing contentedly.

"When are you going to tell me where we're going for our honeymoon?" Hannah asked innocently. James felt her smile through the bond.

"When we get there. Unless you're desperate to know that is."

"Just curious. You know, we should probably make use of the fact we're up and everyone else is asleep." Hannah said, tracing patterns on James' chest. James answered by rolling over and kissing her. When he rolled back Hannah was on top of him. They kissed for about fifteen minutes, before Hannah reluctantly rolled off of James. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. James quickly followed suit, dreaming about Hannah and weddings for the rest of the night.

By the time Hannah woke up James was gone. Hannah could feel him in the kitchen, then a delicious smell reached her nostrils. Bacon. She hopped out of bed, pulling a clean top on before walking out into the lounge. Laura was fast asleep, but Katy was practically bouncing out of her seat.

"You're getting married tomorrow!" She said excitedly, looking Hannah up and down. She cringed when she saw Hannah's hair. "Shit."

"What?" Hannah asked, self consciously checking her hair.

"Your hair! All these other things going on made me forget all about getting your hair done."

"Oh don't worry about it." Hannah said, but Katy was already rummaging about in her bag.

"Breakfast's ready!" James called through from the kitchen. Hannah headed for the kitchen eagerly, not so much because she was hungry, but because it would get her away from Katy's hair does. James passed her in the door, kissing her quickly before heading off to wake Laura up. As Hannah started dealing out bacon and sausages she heard a scream of annoyance from the living room. She laughed as Laura walked into the room, her head and face soaking. James followed her in, holding an empty glass. He smiled innocently at Hannah.

"I tripped." Katy came in, giggling.

As everyone tucked into their breakfast James looked up. Laura was still looking a little peeved.

"Guess what guys?"

"What?" Laura said, unenthusiastically.

"Dad's coming to the wedding."

"What?" Laura asked, suddenly interested.

"We rung him last night. He got all emotional - for dad – and said of course he'd come."

"Wow. That's quite a turn around."

"When's he going to get here?" Katy piped up.

"This evening, I think." James said, wiping his plate with a bit of bread. "So what's the plan for today?" Laura smiled.

"Well, -this was more Katy's idea than mine- me and Katy are going to make the final preparations and give you guys some alone time." James smiled. Images of Hannah's short skirt flashed through his mind, though they abruptly disappeared when he realised Hannah could see them.

"Thanks guys, that's really great." Hannah grinned; she sent images of her short skirt through the bond to James, making it look a whole lot shorter. James laughed. Hannah put down her cutlery and shuffled across to sit James' knee. Laura rolled her eyes and Katy giggled.

"Come on Kates, the sooner we're out of here the better." Laura grinned, standing up. "If they don't get to a sofa soon who knows what might happen." Katy giggled as they left. Once they were gone James leaned forward and kissed Hannah's neck from behind. His hand slid up the inside of her thigh and she twisted on his knee to kiss him. James pulled back reluctantly.

"We'd probably better go to the bed. It's kinda awkward at the kitchen table." James leant in and kissed Hannah again, lightning arched through her veins as James stood up. How did it feel so good? Was there such a thing as a soul mate? Hannah was so enrapt by James' lips that she didn't even notice that they were moving. James laid her on the bed, holding himself up as he kissed his way down her neck. He kept going down to her neckline, pulling it down as he went.

"No love bites before the wedding." Hannah mumbled half-heartedly. James ignored her as he set about giving her one on the side of her breast. The kakari oozed from James' skin, devouring his top. Hannah copied, running her hand across his muscled chest, then down his stomach. She was just about to get the kakari to deal with his belt when there was a knock on the door. James sighed, exasperated.

"Can no one ever arrive on time around here? They always have to come early 'to surprise us'." Hannah sighed and went to find a top while James headed to the door. She could here James talking at the door. He led his father into the living room as Hannah walked through from the bedroom. Both looked a little disappointed. James' dad laughed.

"I'm sorry," he said, glancing at the disappointed faces and James' bare chest, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Kinda, yea." James said awkwardly. Hannah walked over and sat on one of the many sofas. James' dad 'Jack' extended a hand to Hannah. She shook it.

"Nice to meet you Hannah." He said smiling pleasantly. He was nothing like the drunkard Hannah remembered from the bathroom.

"You too Mr Adams."

"Please, call me Jack." He said sitting back. James sat beside Hannah, pulling her close. Jack glanced at the receding bump underneath James' jeans. "I'll tell you what," he said, standing up, "I'm sure guys have had a busy few days organising the wedding. Have the girls gone out to give you a some alone time?" James and Hannah nodded together. "Right, I'll go catch up with Harry and find the girls. I'll see you at tea time." He smiled at James. James grinned back. By the time the door shut behind Jack, Hannah and James were back in the bedroom. Hannah threw her shirt off, not wanting to lose another to the kakari. James jumped onto the bed.

"I don't know if I can last out till the honeymoon."

"I'll try not to be too tempting."

"Ha! That's a laugh." Hannah lay on top of James, kissing his chest and working her way up to his lips. They didn't speak again for quite some time.

Hannah couldn't sleep. It was three o'clock in the morning, but she was too nervous to sleep. James was sleeping lightly beside her; he looked like he was dreaming. Hannah closed her eyes and slipped into her mind, watching James' dream through the bond. He was standing on a large plateau; wind blowing in his face. There was a large sandstorm heading towards him, blowing miles into the air. There was the clatter of arms and armour behind him but he ignored it. As the sandstorm blew closer Hannah could see black dots appearing at the base of it. The kakari pooled in James' hands, forming two long blades. Claws grew from his arms and a black helmet materialised on his head. He glanced sideways at Hannah and nodded. Hannah suddenly realised that she was in the dream as well. She raised shields around herself and James, watching as shapes appeared in the sand. James' mouth dropped open, his swords disappeared into his hands and he drew two swords from his back. One was slightly wider than the other, gems encrusting the handle. 'Mercy' and 'Peace' were written on one of the swords, but as the kakari pored onto the blade the inscription changed to 'Justice'. Hannah readied a fire arrow as men appeared from the dust; only two hundred paces away now. She leased the arrow, but James caught it in mid air. The fire fizzled out and Hannah felt its power sink into the kakari and back into her.

"Magic will not affect the ferali." James said grimly. Hannah looked at him.

"Ferali?"

"Ancient beast. Absorbs humans and animals. Uses the bones and flesh to form different shapes. The kakari will devour it though. The rest are krul. Krul don't feel pain, but they can't shape sift. They might not be human shapes though. They go in groups of twelve, the thirteenth is the leader. Take him first. They have a titan. You'll know what it is when you see it. It's massive. Stay near me, we're going to fight our way to it. Don't stray from me, I'll have a hard time finding your body in time if you die. Lets go." And with that he set off sprinting towards the oncoming army. Hannah ran off after him, long knives growing in her hands. An ugly beast charged towards her, horns down. She jumped, swinging her blade at the beast's eye. As soon as the blade made contact she woke up, panting. James was sitting up beside here, breathing hard as well.

"Wow." Hannah muttered, flopping back onto her pillow, blinking in the light.

"Yea. Wow." James said, lying down beside her.

"How did you know that stuff?" Hannah asked.

"The kakari told me." James said, staring at the ceiling.

"What were those swords?"

"One was Retribution, or Iures 'the staff of law' if you want to give it its proper name. I have it in the cupboard; it's in the shape of a hunting dagger. The other was Curoch, another ancient magical item like Iures and the kakari. It amplifies magic a hundredfold. Iures makes incredibly complicated weaves simple. I don't have Curoch, it's been lost for two thousand years."

"I see." Hannah said, "Sounds complicated."

"You get used to it." James said, putting his arm around Hannah. There was a short pause before Hannah spoke.

"We're getting married today." She said, smiling happily. James turned and smiled at her.

"I suppose I had better get out of here before you lot start fluttering about with hair and dresses."

"I wish I could get out before they start fluttering about with hair and dresses." James laughed and kissed her, before hauling himself out of bed.

"See you at one."

"Bye. Is your dad still walking me down the Isle?"

"Yea I think so. Bye." Hannah snuggled back under the covers, running through the wedding in her head in case she'd missed something. She was almost asleep again when Laura came in, brandishing a hairbrush. Her own golden hair was piled up in elegant shapes and it would appear Hannah would have to suffer the same fate. She shuffled out of bed wordlessly. Pulling on a top she stood up.

"Ok," she groaned to James' tired looking sister, "do your worst." Laura laughed and grabbed Hannah's arm leading her away into the bathroom, which had been made into bridesmaid head quarters. Hannah gulped as she saw Katy standing with a tub of makeup and a comb. Well, at least the makeup wouldn't last long. The kakari was good that way.

James had spent the morning sitting in a pub drinking beer with Harry and his dad. They other two had had a pint each, but James was on his sixth.

"Erm… James. I don't think you should be drunk for your wedding. If you wanted a bachelor party you should have said." Harry said, looking worried. He was best man; if the groom turned up hammered it would be his fault.

"Don't worry about him." James' dad said grinning. "It takes at least thirteen to get him even slightly tipsy."

"Thirteen?" Harry said aghast. James smiled at him. The kakari devoured alcohol the same way it devoured any other poison in his system. If he drunk slowly enough, he would be able to drink for rest of his life without stopping.

"Yep." James said, laughing at Harry's shocked expression. Harry quickly recovered and glanced at his watch.

"Hey, look at the time. We'd better get you all suited up." The butterfly's in James' stomach multiplied.

"Yep, I suppose we had." James said, standing up slowly. His dad laughed.

"I never thought I'd see the day that my son was nervous." James smiled ruefully.

"Thugs, muggers, boxers and all that shit I can handle. But throw a wedding at me and bang. Sheesh, I've only known the girl for just over a week." They all laughed as they headed out, but James' hands were shaking, just a little.

James wiped his hands nervously on his tuxedo. Harry was standing behind him and a balding minister to his right. There was no one in the pews, everyone had a job. The minister looked at James. It seemed he didn't believe James was eighteen and didn't approve of a couple so young getting married. James glared at him. He pasted a fake smile on his face and lowered his head as 'Here Comes the Bride' began to play on the organ. The old fashioned church was beautiful in the bright summer light. Fancy lights hanging from the almost unnervingly high ceiling. All thoughts of the church were forgotten as Hannah appeared in the doorway at the end of the isle. His father had her by the arm, but James didn't even notice him as Hannah began her walk down the isle. A huge unbidden smile spread across James' face, and Hannah's answering smile was beautiful. Her dress was long and flowing, a silk trail following her down the isle. Most of the dress was white silk and it fit her figure perfectly. James could just imagine his sister telling Hannah that it had to be 'Sexy, but not slutty'. The dress stopped at her shoulders, giving way to long, loose arms. They were made of the same material as her veil would be, if she had one. James stared in wonder as she walked, her hips swaying from side to side. They dress had a low neckline, but didn't show any cleavage. Even the minister was enrapt. Hannah had a way of wearing clothes that just made everyone stare in awe. She stepped delicately up beside James. He felt her rush of emotions through the bond. Everything was perfect, James was happy, Hannah was happy, even the minister didn't seem to mind any more. James smiled lovingly at Hannah, who returned his smile full-heartedly. James had had Iures form a band around his ankle, and while they made their way through the vows, he began to plan out the weaves he would use. His thoughts were interrupted by the question he'd been waiting for. He stared into Hannah's eyes.

"Do you, James Adams, take Hannah Williamson to be your lawful wedded wife?" The minister read, smiling. James smile widened.

"I do." Hannah's eyes lit up with joy as he spoke. 'You didn't honestly think I'd say no, did you?' James said, love flowing through the bond. 'No, just hearing you say those words. It's so perfect.' Came Hannah's reply. Then it was Hannah's turn.

"Do you, Hannah Williamson, take James Adams as your lawful wedded husband?" Tears of joy dribbled down Hannah's cheeks.

"I do." The minister grinned. James almost laughed at him but thought better of it.

"Then I pronounce you, Man and Wife. You may now…" The minister said, cutting off as he realised that Hannah and James were already kissing. James drew on some magic, and rose petals floated down from the ceiling, sparkling slightly. Everyone clapped and cheered, which made a abysmally small amount of noise. But James wasn't finished. Roses dropped from the ceiling, popping in multicoloured bursts, showering petals around the room. James pulled Hannah close, still kissing. He slipped his hand into his pocket and brought something out, sliding it around Hannah's neck. Fumbling a little with only one hand, he fastened the clasp on Hannah's pearl necklace. They kissed for what seemed like far too short a time before Hannah pulled back and brought her hand up to her neck. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she fell into James' embrace, the small group watching looked a little worried. But the emotions that were coming to James through their bond were happiness and thanks, not sadness. James pressed his face into her hair, revelling in her perfection. He wouldn't forget this day in a hurry. As Hannah's tears stopped, she looked up at him, smiling uncontrollably. James scooped her into his arms and walked down the isle. The doors opened for them as they stepped out into the sun. James noticed the ring on his finger for the first time. He didn't even remember it going on. James reached inside his jacket, and -with a little magic- pulled out a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He handed them to Hannah who threw them over her head. Katy, who was gawking at the car that awaited them, got it right in the face. Everyone laughed as she fumbled, trying not to drop the flowers. James looked to the car that Katy had been staring at. It was a large Roles Royce, with wide leather seats beckoning them in. There was a chauffeur sitting in the front smiling. It was Harry. James turned to look at his dad. His father smiled and mouthed 'A wedding present.' James grinned and gently placed Hannah in the back seat. He jogged round to the other side of the car and hopped in. Cheers went up as the doors closed and the car drove off. Hannah was removing parts of her dress, such as the long cloak-like trail. There was what looked to be a soundproof glass partition between the driver and the backseats. Trust Harry. He opened a flap and spoke through to them.

"Where to guv'na?" He asked, still grinning from the wedding.

"The airport please. And make it snappy." James said, acting posh as Harry accelerated onto the motorway. Hannah shuffled over and pressed her body tight against James'. The little flap dropped closed and James turned and kissed Hannah. They fell backwards, Hannah lying on top of James on the wide leather seats.

"You know," she murmured as James kissed her neck, "This is technically after the wedding."

"Oh, don't tempt me. We don't have enough time before we reach the airport. And anyway, I don't think Harry would like it."

"I guess you're right," Hannah said, pulling at the neckline of her dress. "We'll just have to make the most of what we can do." James grinned, sliding open the long zip on the back of her dress.

After twenty minutes of driving James reluctantly sat up. Zipping up Hannah's dress for her as he went. 'Later.' He mouthed as the car rolled to a stop in front of a security kiosk. Harry said something to the fat black man at the desk and he hopped to attention. The gates in front of them slid open and the Role Royce drove out onto the runway its self. An airport police car escorted them to a large black jet, ready for take off. The engines were quiet as James carried Hannah up the steps, waving goodbye to Harry as he disappeared through the door. He placed Hannah on the floor and they made their way through the luxury private jet. There was a living room with a snooker table and a giant TV, followed by a relaxation room with a hot tub and some massage tables. The next room was a bedroom. It had a large, cream king-size bed right in the middle of it. Off to the side there was a bathroom, and on the back wall there was a tough looking door that said 'caution, Airlock.' On it. James and Hannah collapsed onto the bed kissing again. As Hannah came up for breathe James spoke.

"I hate to be an ass, but we still have to wait a bit longer."

"You're the boss." Hannah smiled, shrugging her shoulders out of her dress and pressing her breasts onto James' chest.

"No I'm not." James said, moving in to kiss her again, "I'm just the one who arranges the surprises." The plane took off smoothly, and was clear of British aerospace in less than two minutes. It flew up as high as was physically possible before accelerating so hard that it almost broke the sound barrier, which was unheard of for such a large plane. James knew all of this since he'd planned the flight, but he was blissfully unaware of it as he rolled around the bed with Hannah. A small 'beep' sounded from an intercom somewhere, and a deep voice spoke through.

"Hello, this is your pilot speaking. Welcome to the Black Cat international private jet. We have now reached cruising speed and altitude. We will reach the drop point in approximately seven minutes should you wish to make the 'alternate landing'. That will be all. Thank you." Hannah pulled back from James.

"Drop point?" She asked, interested. James smiled.

"Well, if you're not too afraid of heights, I thought we could skydive onto the island."

"So we're going to an island?"

"Yep. Adams Isle. I bought it for you, but 'Hannah Island' didn't have the same ring to it." James grinned at her. "I can call it that if you want though."

"You bought me an Island?" Hannah asked in disbelief.

"Well, I bought us an island. It's for out honeymoon. Believe it or not."

"Wow. You're amazing."

"Its not that big really…" James started, but Hannah kissed him again. After a long moment Hannah stopped again.

"Are we really going to skydive?"

"You bet." Hannah grinned at James.

"I've always wanted to do that."

"It's even more fun with the kakari."

"You don't need a parachute?"

"Nope."

"Cool."

"In fact," James said glancing at the clock, "we'd better get ready." James had barely finished speaking when the pilot's voice came over the intercom.

"All those skydiving, please go and collect your equipment now." James lifted Hannah into his arms, not bothering to replace the top half of her dress. He carried her to the airlock.

"You're sure you want to do this?"

"Definitely." Hannah said, grinning like a little kid. They stepped through the door and sealed it shut behind them. James grabbed the two rucksacks and thermal suits and floated them in the air beside the large doors that would open to allow them out into night. James wondered for a second why it was suddenly nighttime, but soon remembered the geography lesson he'd got when he was little about time changes and jet lag. He pulled Hannah into a close embrace, kissing her as a red light appeared above their heads. After a few seconds it turned to amber and the door locks thunked open. James' muscles bunched. The light flicked green and the doors burst open, whipping James and Hannah out into the night. James used Iures to help him with a few heat preserving weaves and his muscles strained to keep Hannah with him. 'Here goes' he thought to Hannah as they dropped through the stratosphere. He let her go and spread his arms and legs, slowing himself. Hannah copied him almost instantly, relying on the bond to know what James was doing. James covered his eyes with the kakari; it acted like a pair of goggles. Experimenting with a few different shapes with his arms, he moved over to her. He pulled her close to him and kissed her warm lips as they hurtled through the sky. He stuck his leg out sideways and sent them into a spin. They narrowly missed a highflying passenger plane as they dropped, still kissing. James pulled back, curling into a ball. Hannah copied him and they spun like synchronized swimmers, perfectly in time with each other. As they dropped past another plane James used the kakari to form an air board on his feet. Hannah, not entirely sure what he was doing, did the same. James showed her how to flip and spin and even surf the air as they dropped. The plunged into the lower realms of the sky, their boards sinking into them and becoming flight suits. Their descent slowed dramatically and they steered their way towards a small dot in the approaching ocean. Hannah followed James as he slowed gradually, the dot becoming an island as they drew closer. The sandy beaches and palm forest came into view as they drew closer still. A huge white villa with a swimming pool in the middle of its large courtyard appeared through the trees. It had a blue rectangle on one of the four sides of its flat roof, which James aimed for. He pulled up dramatically as he got nearer to it. He dropped out of the sky, landing in the middle of the thick mat. He rolled over and guided Hannah in with magic, landing her softly on top of him. Her eyes were wild as the kakari withdrew into her eyelids. She leaned forward and kissed James lightly on the nose.

"Now?" she asked smiling. James grinned at her, drawing on more magic.

"Now." He said, shooting off the roof, through the door and into the bedroom at an unbelievable speed. Hannah relaxed and allowed him to manipulate her body as he first changed her clothes, and then his own before laying her on the bed. Black silk sheets covered the bed, drawing them in. The whole operation took less than twenty seconds. Hannah pulled James down beside her, rolling on top of him. James had dressed her in a tight pink top and a loose short skirt. He was wearing baggy jeans and a designer t-shirt of some sort. He'd never been one for fashion. Hannah leaned in and kissed him softly. James' hand slid up the back of her shirt as they began to kiss with more energy. 'Did you bring any protection?' Hannah asked him, using her thoughts so her lips were still free. 'We won't need it. The kakari devours any foreign substances.'

'That's handy.' Hannah said, drifting into James' mind. They were one mind with two bodies. James devoured Hannah's shirt and slid his hand under her bra. Hannah set about getting rid of James' shirt as she split her legs a little, letting James' other hand slide up the inside of her thigh. James moved to kiss her neck, but Hannah's lips refused to let go. James shrugged, and his shirt disappeared. James felt the familiar lightning burning through Hannah's veins as it did through his own. Together, they ridded themselves of their remaining clothes, and James pulled the covers over them. A surge of joy and pleasure surged through Hannah as James did what he'd been dying to do for so long. They continued to kiss as James let out a low groan, followed by Hannah. James and Hannah revelled in each other's pleasure. James groaned again, it was like someone had hit a switch on his balls. Warmth flowed through him and Hannah moaned with pleasure as their kissing intensified. Hannah's fingers dug into his shoulders as James shuffled his hips, but James barely noticed. James felt Hannah's whole body twitch and she uttered a long, low groan. Warmth washed over James' groin for the second time in a number of minutes, though this time it was Hannah who was doing the warming. They rolled over, kissing frantically. Hannah flexed her hips, moving up and down against him as James' hand ran out of thigh. It was a hundred times better than James had ever imagined; he doubted he would get much sleep tonight.

Hannah's eyes opened slowly. She blinked a couple of times in the bright tropical light. Tropical? Oh shit! She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. She was in a beautiful white bedroom. The four-poster bed was covered with white silk sheets, and a large TV was mounted on the wall facing the headboard. The walls were white, and a large window above the bed shone beautiful yellow sunlight into the room. The light shone through the pink flowers hanging from the curtain like cover over the bed. A few of the flowers had dropped onto the covers, their beauty emphasized by the white silk. Hannah turned and saw one resting on James' bare chest. James? Everything from the night before flooded back to her. She was married! She was on a tropical Island! She was with James! She was supposedly an immortal! And she most certainly wasn't a virgin!

"Wow." She squeaked, a little intimidated by the amount that had happened in the last week and a half. James stirred and woke, taking in his surroundings before turning to look at Hannah.

"Wow." He said, his voice deep and husky. Hannah laughed.

"My sentiments exactly." Hannah stared into James' deep blue eyes. She was surprised she hadn't noticed them before. She thought through last night's events. After almost four hours of… -Hannah blushed just thinking about it- they had got out of the rather sticky bed and moved next door, where they had flopped into this bed. Despite the adrenaline coursing through her, Hannah had been asleep in minutes. The clock claimed that it was half ten in the morning, but Hannah had no intention of getting up. She felt elated, carefree even, as she snuggled down into the comfy silk covers. Everything was perfect. James gasped. Hannah turned to him, her expression quizzical. She gasped as she saw what he was looking at. An orange and black striped tail was sticking out from behind an open cupboard door in the kitchen. The kitchen, living room and bedroom all flowed into each other, so they had a clear view of the kitchen from their bed. Hannah's brain made the connection between an orange and black tail, James' gasp and a tropical island incredibly slowly. Hannah looked to James, who, she could see was reaching for his magic from the slight glow around his eyes and head. A light of realisation dawned in his eyes and the glow disappeared. Hannah didn't get a chance to speak before James called out.

"Here Tigger, here boy." A small tiger appeared from behind the cupboard door. It wagged its tail like a dog and bounded over to them. It licked James face repeatedly as he stroked its head. Hannah realised that the tiger must have been tamed at some point. She reached out and stroked it. The big cat purred contentedly. James' jaw dropped.

"What?" Hannah asked, smiling at his shocked expression.

"Tigger just purred. For a stranger! He's usually pretty hostile with strangers. I'm like his best mate, and he's never purred for me."

"Cool. I guess I have a way with tigers." Hannah said, stroking the oversized cat. "Who trained him?"

"I did. We've had him since he was a cub. I always liked him, so I had him sent here to enjoy the jungle when I bought it."

"He's sweet." Hannah said, looking out the window, before looking back to James. "But if you're finished with tiger kisses…" But James was already kissing her. Tigger walked away dejectedly as Hannah pressed herself against James. James' hand slid from her neck, across her breasts and down her stomach, lingering between the tops of her thighs. He looked into Hannah's eyes, asking for permission. Hannah raised her eyebrow in a 'are you stupid or something?' sort of gesture. James' hand continued towards its target as Hannah slipped into his mind. Her stomach rumbled loudly, followed by James'. Hannah pulled back, and James' hand came up to his stomach.

"Let's get some breakfast." James said, sliding reluctantly to the edge of the bed.

"Good idea." Hannah said, realising she hadn't eaten since dinner, the day before the wedding. Hannah went in search of clothes, while James went in search of food. He took Iures off and had it take on the shape of a hunting knife again. Hannah found a wardrobe in the other bedroom and rummaged through it, admiring the abundance of clothes. She grabbed James some clothes and pulled on her own, as she looked around the room. The room was similar to the other bedroom, but the sheets on the bed were black, and sticky. She wandered back through to the kitchen, throwing James his clothes. She grabbed some eggs and bacon. James went to find tomatoes while she hunted out a frying pan. The smell of eggs was delicious and she put an extra egg on each. Hannah smiled at herself; she'd never really liked eggs before now. James must be changing her, she thought, laughing at herself. James returned and breakfast was served. Hannah laid the plates on the table and sat down. James headed to the toilet as she started her food. By the time he got back, Hannah had finished her eggs and was on to her bacon. James laughed.

"I didn't realise you were so keen on your food." Hannah smiled.

"You have no idea." James said as Hannah slid her socked foot up James' leg, resting her feet on his lap.

"Oh yes I do." She said, smiling. She stood up and went over to the cooker and broke another egg and a slice of bacon into the pan. "Do you want anymore?" She asked James, her hand hovering over the packet of bacon.

"More? I could fast for a week and still be full after a feed like that." James said, leaning back in his chair.

"You're loss." Hannah said, turning on the electric ring. She eat quickly, and headed for the bedroom. James' eyebrows raised and he followed her, fingering the buttons on his shirt. Hannah smiled as James came in, his shirt open.

"You should be on a calendar." She said giggling as he flicked his blond curls as he walked.

"If I should be on a calendar where should you be?" He asked, admiring her slender curves.

"In the calendar with you." She said, grabbing the sides of his unbuttoned shirt and pulling him onto the bed.

"I can thing of better places we could be together than in pictures for a calendar." He mumbled as she kissed his neck.

"Oh yea?" Hannah asked as James' shirt disappeared. Most speech afer that

Hannah sighed contentedly. She lay close to James, who was still sleeping. They had been on the island for about five days. They had gone a few walks, and done a bit of swimming in the beautifully warm sea, but their main pass time had been lovemaking. She laughed quietly to herself when she remembered the night before. They'd gone on so long into the night that they'd fallen asleep halfway through. She glanced at the clock as she eased herself off of James and out from under the sticky covers. She ran the kakari over her body, getting rid of the various sticky substances on her skin. It beat showering any day. She pulled on yet another pair of new clothes. The amount of clothes and silk lingerie they had gone through was unbelievable. They had come to know the cleaners quite well in their short stay; after all, they were having to come in twice a day. She started getting the fry ready as she heard James yawning and sitting up. She gathered together tomatoes, bread, bacon, sausages and eggs. She just couldn't get enough of those eggs. It was like some sort of craving. She froze. James walked into the room, just as the egg slipped from her hand. He was across the room and caught it before it hit the floor. He dropped it onto the counter, looking at Hannah with concern. Hannah barely noticed, she was staring at the cooker in front of her in shock. James took her by the shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"Hannah? Hannah are you all right? Speak to me." Hannah dragged her eyes up to meet James'. Her hand went to her stomach.

"Shit." She practically squeaked. James' eyes widened. Hannah collapsed into his arms and everything went black.

When Hannah woke up she was lying on the living room sofa. She lay still for a minute, calming herself down. She brought her hand to her slightly swollen stomach. James appeared at her side.

"Hannah?" He asked, his voice soft.

"James. Are you all right?" James smiled at her.

"I'm ok, are you?"

"I think so. Am I… Am I…"

"I think so. I amn't much of a healer, but the kakari said you were. You should be able to tell with magic." Hannah nodded. She reached for her magic, still having a little difficulty. She brought her other hand to her stomach, running her both of her hands across it. She could feel something, like another person or organism of some sort. It was growing, growing at an incredibly rate in fact. Its cells were multiplying unbelievably quickly, as she watched; the roots of a brain began to form in the little ball of flesh. Her baby. Hannah's eyes welled up and a smile broke out on her lips.

"It's there James, and it's growing. And quickly at that. Our baby." Tears of joy ran down Hannah's face as James smiled. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"The kakari said it would grow remarkably quickly. It'll only take a week or two before it's ready to be born."

"Will we go to a hospital? We might freak out the doctors."

"I'm going to take you to my master. He's the one who taught me about the kakari and stuff. He'll know what to do."

"Ok."

"I'm sorry Hannah. I was wrong. These next two weeks are going to be hard for you, and it's all my fault."

"James." Hannah said softly, "I love you. I love you with all my heart and soul. You've given me a child, not imposed one on me." Hannah said, her smile growing. Tears welled up in James' eyes now; he leant in and kissed her. It was a long, passionate kiss.

"I love you." He said, as she sat up. Hannah grinned at him.

"I love you too." She said, followed by an ecstatic "I'm going to have a baby." She burst into tears, laughing and crying as she hugged James tight to her. She pulled herself together a little and pulled back to look at James. "Don't think this gets you out of your duties." She said, grinning at him. He smiled back.

"Duties?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, you know what I mean." Hannah said, standing up and walking to the bed. Hannah saw a brief wave of magic around James as he followed her over grinning. "What was that?" Hannah asked.

"A condom." James said smiling. "I know you're already pregnant, but I'm not taking any chances. Hannah laughed. James was just about to flop onto the bed beside her when his mobile rang. It was Harry.

"Hello? Harry?"

"Hey, James. We got a problem." Harry sounded worried.

"What? Can't you deal with it? I've kinda got my own problems."

"James, it's your sister. She's been kidnapped. They took your dad as well."

"Shit. Who?"

"Some Society or other. I looked them up; they're some sort of anti magic, mumbo jumbo sort of group. They said they wanted you and Hannah, or else."

"Shit."

"Do you know why they want you?"

"An anti magic group? Not a fucking clue. Get some guys together and have a look. I'll be there in twelve days."

"Twelve days? James that might be too late."

"I got bigger problems Harry. Bye." James put down the phone. He dropped onto the bed, his head in his hands.

"James, I'm ok. Go find your sister."

"No. I'll take you to Drias first. I'll go and look for them at night if I've got time." He said, taking her hand.

"James…" Hannah started, but James put a finger to her lips.

"Hannah, you're the most important thing in my life. There's no competition. You will always come first, don't let anyone tell you other wise."

"James don't…" Hannah tried again, but James kissed her. When he drew back he had a smile on his face.

"I'm putting my foot down, Hannah. I'm staying right here." He said, feigning authority, but still smiling.

"Well then," Hannah said, giving in to those deep blue eyes, "we might as put your presence to good use." Their clothes disappeared as they dropped onto the bed. Hannah was sure she heard the kakari sigh as the covers were pulled over them. She smiled into James' lips. The next few weeks were going to be interesting.

James gazed at Hannah. She looked so vulnerable in her sleep. He placed his hand lightly on her stomach, feeling the tiny organism inside. Hannah slept deeply as the seaplane flew through the night sky. James watched the ocean flow past miles below them, his eyes drifting closed. He caught himself, his eyes snapping open again. What had he dragged Hannah into? The baby had done a month's worth of growing in just over a day. Hannah was forced to eat like a horse to stay healthy; that was as well as James feeding nutrients into her bloodstream with magic. James' eyes slid closed again, this time he gave in to sleep. He would need all the rest he could get in the next few weeks. He didn't even know how he was going to travel from California to England, and back in a night. And he would still have to leave time in between travelling to actually look for his sister. He reckoned his dad would be able to fend for himself, but his sister had had no interest in training to be a thief, she couldn't fight at all. James drifted unconsciously into Hannah's mind. She'd moved on from a deep sleep, to dream mode. She was dreaming happily of a child. The baby girl sat in a high chair as Hannah fed her. Hannah fed her for about five minutes, before the little girl reached out and took the spoon out of her mother's hands. James realised that he was watching the spectacle through a window, and headed to the door. He walked into the kitchen and Hannah grinned at him, standing up. She kissed James happily, though she seemed tired. The girl laid the spoon down neatly in her empty bowl and swivelled in her seat.

"Mamma." She said pointedly, lifting her arms. James and Hannah froze. Hannah swivelled and picked up the smiling child. James tickled her cheek, making strange noises, as people tend to do when they're around young children. The baby laughed, reaching out to touch James.

"Daddy." She said, pulling on his ear. James laughed, but stopped as the child disappeared. Hannah froze, it was evident she could still feel the child in her arms. Suddenly, the baby reappeared. "Boo." She said playfully, her singsong voice sounding clearer than before. The radio turned on beside James, unbidden and a voice came out over the noise of the sea. The sea? Where was he? The roar of an engine came closer, though it was still far off.

"Attention, we are now coming in to land. Please remain seated as the sea is a little choppy this afternoon." Came the deep, but pleasant voice over the radio. Suddenly James was sitting down and everything was black. He opened his eyes, and blinked in the bright light. Hannah was waking up beside him, her hand clasped in his. James glanced out the window of the plane. He turned to Hannah.

"Welcome to America." He said smiling.

"What a dream." Hannah said, standing up. "I'm starving." James laughed.

"There's a surprise." He said, stretching. He dropped from the plane onto the large floats as they skimmed towards the docks. He caught Hannah as she hopped down, saving her from an icy swim. He held onto the side of the boat with one arm, holding Hannah around the waist with the other. She closed her eyes as the wind blew over her, her shiny brown hair blowing out behind her. He smiled involuntarily, something, he realized, he'd been doing a lot recently. Before he'd met Hannah, he'd smiled like, once a week. James jumped up onto the small wooden pier, taking Hannah with him. She looked around, confused.

"James," she said, looking at him quizzically, "there's nothing here." James nodded. They were standing on the edge of a rather large dessert, heat rose from the sand, stretching for miles upon miles in every direction. Except behind them, that was the sea. James was about to speak when he heard something. The sound was muffled, as if heard through glass. Instantly shields popped up around James and Hannah as James placed the sound. A gun cocking. There was a burst of shots from some sort of Uzi from behind them. Hannah screamed and a flurry of bullets stopped inches from her head, hanging in mid air, as she turned round. James was already inside the cockpit of the little seaplane. Smashed glass from the windscreen cut into his legs and face as he straddled the pilot. A small uzi sat smoking on the chair, beside the pilot's -now broken- arm. The guy's eyes were wide, his jaw slack. James snarled at him and he flinched.

"Shit." He whined, closing his eyes as the mask of judgment rushed across James' face. James was quite proud of this idea; it always scared the shit out of people. It wasn't necessary, though. The man's deeds were written on the back of his eyes, and they weren't pretty. This man was part of 'The Society', which wanted James. He was pretty low down in the command scale, just a thug a thug with a better name. They used their hate of magic as an excuse to kill people, rob their houses and break up marriages. James looked deep into the man's eyes, seeing all of his acts of evil. He stiffened, frozen on three murders. The image from Hannah's mind matched perfectly.

"Hannah?" James shouted, the mask of judgement disappearing, "you might want to speak to this guy."

Hannah appeared in the cockpit door, her eyes widened as she saw what was in James mind. Her eye lids fluttered and she fainted. James moved unbelievably fast, catching Hannah and sitting her down in a glass free seat, before pinning the stunned pilot to the ground again. The man didn't even notice him stand go. Hannah blinked, sitting up. She stared at the man, blinking repeatedly.

"Son of a bitch." She finally muttered. The man's face-hardened.

"Your magic cant hurt me, mages." He spat, literally. The kakari devoured the ball of saliva before it reached James' face.

"Oh, no?" James said, in a bored voice.

"I have my armour, you wanker." The man said, smug.

"You're armour?" James said, a cruel smile touching at his lips as he cocked an eyebrow. The man grinned.

"The armour of disbelief." He said, flexing his muscles. Blue fire erupted all over James' body, burning in spouts from his eyes. Then, the kakari rushed over him, devouring the flame and turning him into a matt black humanoid. The kakari disappeared, leaving the man wide eyed.

"What would you have me do to this thug my love?" James asked sweetly. Anger crossed Hannah's face, and the man no longer looked so sure of himself.

"Nothing." She said, the man's skull exploding as she spoke. Brains and blood splattered the cockpit, stopping at James and Hannah's shields. James stared at Hannah in disbelief.

"So you got the hang of offensive magic then?" James asked, finally finding the ability to speak. Hannah nodded, torn between grimacing and grinning. James laughed at her torn expression. Hannah laughed with him as they walked from the plane.

Drias was irritated. He'd spent a lot of his life studying herbs and poisons, but this one deluded him. He'd read in a manuscript about a poison made from a number of simple herbs. It was said to mimic the effects of a regular pregnancy, but when the baby was due to be born, the mother would die. A man would most likely fall ill for a short while. Apparently a mage could detect the poison, but there weren't many of those about today, and he doubted the doctor would see the difference. It was a terrific poison, if only he could get it to work. He'd tried every possible way of bonding the two that he could imagine, but the poison refused to work. He used pigs to test the poison, cruel though it was; he thought to himself, it would be worse to use humans. He was drawn from his thoughts by a burst of magic outside. He clambered from his chair, recognising James' knock anywhere. He dropped the weaves surrounding the doorway and waited at the bottom of the stairs. This would be interesting.

James hauled the door open, after scraping the sand from it. He opened it, the door swinging up and resting against the pile of sand. Hannah stepped down onto the cool stone steps and James followed her down, closing the door and covering it with sand as he went. He wondered how it would be done without magic. He followed Hannah down the long flight of steps, into the ancient tunnels. The spanned most of the dessert, crossing over and through each other like rabbit warrens. Drias only used some of the tunnels, but it was still confusing if you didn't know your way. Joanna appeared behind Drias as James they reached the bottom of the stairs; she frowned as she saw Hannah. Drias' face remained as emotionless as ever, but James thought his eyes widen, just a little as he spotted Hannah's stomach.

"James." He nodded, as Jo rushed past him and flung her arms around James' neck. Jo was only ten, but her glore vyrden was practically equal to James', which was –according to Drias- huge. Drias had been training her since she was five, and she was more than capable. James swung her around, her legs flying out and her shoes sliding off her feet. Drias ducked as the shoes whizzed past, and Jo set off after them, wobbling from side to side and laughing. James grinned and put his arm round Hannah's waist, but the grin disappeared as he walked over to Drias. Drias frowned a little as James stopped in front of him.

"Master, I kinda need your help." James said nervously.

"Oh yes?" Drias said, cocking an eyebrow. James nodded.

"This is Hannah. She's my wife." James said, smiling again. Hannah smiled politely and shook Drias' hand. Drias' eyes widened and his jaw went slack.

"How?" He mumbled, looking at Hannah in disbelief. "Did the black choose her instead? That's not possible!" James laughed at Drias, it was the only time James had ever seen him shocked. Drias frown deepened and he turned to James. He was about to speak, when James disappeared. You too. James thought to Hannah. Hannah disappeared along side James, and he leant in and kissed her. A chair shot across the floor and Drias dropped into it. James pulled back and laughed at his master's quizzical expression. Hannah reappeared and James followed suit, still laughing. "The kakari bonded us." James said, as he and Hannah both pooled the kakari in their hands. Drias stood up and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He tried again.

"Impossible." He muttered. James swallowed hard.

"Hannah's pregnant." He almost whispered. Drias fell back into the chair again. He soon recovered and stood up. He hugged Hannah warmly.

"Congratulations." He said warmly. It was James' turn to fall on his arse. He sat on the steps, staring at Drias.

"Wow." He muttered, struggling to believe what he'd just seen. Drias laughed. James pulled himself together and stood up. Drias shook his hand and smiled.

"When is the child due?" He asked warmly. James couldn't believe that this hard, unemotional man could be so friendly. James frowned and Drias' smile dropped from his face. "What?" He asked, concerned. James looked him in the eye.

"Eleven days." James said quietly. A smile touched Drias' lips; obviously thinking James was taking the piss. One look at James' face convinced him other wise.

"But…" He started, but James interrupted.

"The child is growing at an unbelievable rate. It must have something to do with the kakari bonding us." Drias frowned, and an ancient book flew through from an other room. He flicked through it and stopped, reading a page, once, twice, three times. He breathed a sigh of relief, and James did too. If his master was relieved, then so was he.

"The child will be magical, but not bonded to the kakari like you and Hannah. It will grow quickly, but it will probably stop at about sixteen. It will mature quickly, and will more than likely be very intelligent. It'll be like a dream child." Drias said, smiling. Hannah grinned and James hugged her close. After a long embrace, James turned back to Drias.

"So," he said, noticing Jo return, "have you been looking at anything interesting lately?"

"As a matter of fact I have. I found out about a new poison, which you two have just put me off developing." Drias said, smiling. James frowned. "It imitates pregnancy." Drias explained. James laughed, and Hannah smiled as she stroked her belly.

"Anything else?" James asked, as Joanna climbed up onto his back.

"Actually, yes." Drias said, a huge grin appearing on his face. James' eyes widened.

"You found a split?" He asked, amazed. A childish grin appeared on Drias' face

"Not found one, James. I discovered how to make one!"

"Make one?"

"It's where we were going wrong. You don't find splits, you make them. It's a hugely complicated weave though, I'd need Iures."

"What about the whole 'time space continuum' thing?"

"It won't make any difference."

"How? If we go back in time and change something, then it's going to change what all through history." James said, confused. Drias grinned again.

"If we go back in time, we'll already have been back in time. At least, that's the way it works for the caster. If someone who wasn't involved in casting the spell went through the split, it would screw everything up."

"I see." James said, frowning in concentration. He didn't really understand any of it, but understanding was Drias' job, James just took his word for it.

"I get it." Hannah said, speaking for the first time in a number of minutes. James looked at her. She smiled at him, teasingly. Drias laughed at James' surprised expression. Soon they were all laughing and Drias led the way into the large cavern that passed for a living room. Needless to say, there was no TV. James dropped into a wicker couch -all the furniture in the tunnels was made by Drias- and Hannah sat on his knee. Drias went off, muttering about 'a book he wanted to show us' and left us alone. Hannah sighed contentedly and snuggled into James' chest. He kissed the top of her head as she ran her hand over her slightly rounded belly. James laid his hand on top of hers and smiled, relieved to be with Drias, he always knew what to do. It made sense; the guy had been around for almost three thousand years. James felt a small surge of magic, and after a few moments, Drias wondered in. He smiled nervously. James looked at him, worried. He'd never seen his master display so much emotion, never mind in one day, maybe he was ill.

"I, erm, made you two a wedding present." He said sheepishly, as if he was admitting to some terrible crime. James was speechless, but Hannah, who wasn't used to Drias, reacted quickly. She stood up and hugged Drias.

"Oh thank you, you shouldn't have." She said, grinning. James recovered and stood up.

"But you don't even know what it is yet." Drias said, obviously feeling awkward after the hug. Hannah laughed. They followed Drias down a few tunnels until they reached a mahogany door. James stared at the door in wonder. Not only was it a rare occurrence to see a door down here, but also, it was carved with beautiful drawings and runes.

"It's beautiful." Hannah whispered, speaking James' thoughts. Drias laughed again, it was becoming a common occurrence, James thought.

"The door is only part of the present. It wont let Joanna into your room." Drias said, as the door swung open. Inside was a huge four-poster bed with silky looking covers, and what must have been a feather mattress. There was a long sofa and two chairs, placed in various parts of the room, they too had feather cushions. If James didn't know better he would have thought Drias had bought them. Lying on the bed were two sheathed weapons. Hannah hugged Drias again, and James nodded a silent thanks. Before they could say anything, Drias backed out the door.

"If you don't like the weapons, just give me a shout. I'll make you something else." He said as the door swung shut, leaving Hannah and James standing quietly in the middle of the room. James smiled at Hannah.

"The old bastard." He muttered, though it was far from an insult. He walked over to the bed with Hannah in tow, and scooped up the first weapon. The sheath was coated in leather, runes were carved into it that James didn't understand and a dark sapphire was fitted into either side, near the hilt. It was a hand and a half sword, but the hilt was reasonably short. Black leather was wrapped around the handle and there was another large, dark sapphire in the pommel of the sword. James drew the sword reverently. The blade was roughly two and a half inches thick, with a perfectly straight vein of black diamond running up the centre, the diamond glittered slightly. The diamond split at the top and coated the two edges of the sword, hard and sharp, James thought. James touched his hand thumb to the blade. He winced as the blade cut into his thumb, a thin line of blood appeared as he wiped the blade.

"Wow." He murmured, swinging the blade around his head expertly. It was balanced perfectly.

"Did Drias make that?" Hannah asked, picking up the second weapon as James sheathed his.

"Yep. He can do practically anything." Hannah didn't answer, she was staring in awe at the blade in front of her. Fine designs appeared on the sheath as she touched it. Swirling patterns of pink diamond. The handle was slim and elegant, slightly curved with a bright pink diamond glowing in the pommel. The blade was covered in the same pink diamond swirls as the sheath. Like James', the diamond covered the edges. It was a beautiful sword. Both blades were shaped abnormally, with curves and vicious hook like curves*. Hannah swung it gracefully, flicking the sheath into the air with the tip of the blade. As the sheath spun, Hannah took a deep breath and swung the sword forward, at the last second she twisted the blade, changing the swing to a stab, and jabbed -still gracefully- at the spinning sheath. To James' amazement, the sword slid into the sheath soundlessly, perfectly timed. James' jaw dropped. She turned and smiled.

"H… Ho… how?" James stuttered, astounded. He couldn't do that with magic, never mind without. Hannah frowned.

"What?" She asked, confused, "What's wrong?"

"How'd you do that? The kakari?"

"What? No. I just kinda did it. It's not that hard."

"Oh yes it is. I couldn't do that with or without magic." James said, grinning. "I think we just found your 'talent'." Hannah frowned quizzically, sliding into James' arms.

"And what's that?" she asked, snuggling into his chest.

"You're a blade master. Or mistress, even." James said, lazily, sinking on to the bed. "It comes with the kakari. Some sort of intense talent, like you're naturally talented, but you're not."

"What's yours?" Hannah asked, lowering herself onto him. James snorted.

"Herbs. And poisons." He muttered, blushing a little.

"What's wrong with that?" Hannah asked, opening James' top button.

"It sucks." James said, giving up on Hannah's fiddly laced ties and brought the kakari to his fingertips. He slid his way down the lace, dissolving it.

"Are there any 'talents' that aren't violent or destructive?" Hannah asked, sending the kakari swirling over his buttons.

"Probably not." James mumbled, kissing his way down Hannah's neck. James slid his hand over her -now bear- shoulder and down her back to her hips. James moved up the bed, knocking the swords to the floor. Hannah, still on top of him, moaned as he slid his hands in between her legs. James rolled over, pulling the covers over Hannah and himself. It sure beat the last bed he'd had when he was with Drias. Straw wasn't very comfortable, he thought, sinking into Hannah's mind.

James had the feeling he was being watched. He pulled his eyes open reluctantly. He stared uncomprehendingly at the ornate cover over the bed. He smiled, remembering the night before. He turned to look at Hannah. The covers only reached their waists, leaving Hannah more than a little exposed. He reached to pull the covers over Hannah; that was when he noticed Jo.

"Shit!" They said in unison. Jo was looking from James to Hannah in awe. "Wow." She squeaked. She took in James' muscled physique and Hannah's breasts, eyes wide. James flung the covers up over Hannah and sat up. James realized that Jo had probably not seen anyone topless before. Man or woman. Drias appeared never to sleep, and James had never had his top off around her when he was in training. There'd probably never been a woman in the tunnels before, and Drias wasn't big on awkward explanations.

"Drias said you couldn't get in here." James said, speaking as much to him-self as he was to Jo. Jo smiled. She raised her hand, and her sparkling ring morphed into a silvery hunting knife.

"I was intrigued by the weaves, so I went and found Iures. It wasn't that hard." She said, smiling. Jo was abnormally smart for a ten year old. This was due to the fact that she was, in fact, fifteen; her body however, remained stuck at ten. Drias had been looking for some way to allow her to grow, but so far he had nothing.

"Smart arse." James muttered, lying back down under the covers. Jo didn't move. Hannah's eyes fluttered open. She turned and looked at James. He stared into her deep blue eyes and smiled. He rolled his eyes and nodded at Jo, who was still standing about a meter from the bed. Hannah's eyes widened. Before she could say anything, Jo piped up again.

"Did you guys have sex?" She asked incredulous. James glanced at Hannah. She gave a little, 'whatever' shrug.

"Um, yea." James said, he smiled as Jo's jaw dropped.

"But you're not…" She started, but James lifted his hand and wiggled his ring finger. Jo's eyes widened even further. There was a knock on the door. James climbed out of bed, invisible from his stomach down. He smiled at Jo's quickly concealed look of disappointment and went to answer the door.

"Why did you break the weaves?" Drias asked as the door swung open. James smiled ruefully. That was the Drias he knew, straight to the point.

"It wasn't me." James said, beckoning Drias in. He saw Jo, who was now looking sheepishly at her feet. Drias frowned.

"Jo, out." He ordered, a smile touching his lips as he noticed her wide eyes. Jo stopped in the doorway and looked up at him.

"They, they, they had sex." She stuttered, still in shock.

"They did? Well then, they'll be great at teaching you about it then." Drias said, winking at James. Jo scurried off and Drias sat down at the bottom of the bed. Hannah yawned as James slid in beside her.

"To what do we owe this delightful visit?" James asked, pulling Hannah close to him. She rested her head on James' chest as Drias thought through his answer, or whatever it was Drias was thinking about.

"There are only four splits." Drias said, pulling an ancient looking parchment from a pouch on his belt. "Four important points in history that can be travelled to."

"Cool." James said, cupping Hannah's breast in his hand, under the covers. "Is that everything?" Drias read the parchment again, as if to be sure he was right before speaking.

"Well, that and the little fact that your child's glore vyrden will be practically unlimited." Drias said, nodding at Hannah's stomach. James frowned.

"Is there anything you can't find in your books?" James asked, followed by, "How strong are we talking about?"

"See that's the problem. He'll have enough magic in him to pick up the white house and throw half way to Africa, but it's unlikely he'll have an awful lot of control over it."

"I see. Thanks Master. I'll see you for breakfast in an hour or two." James said, shuffling down the bed slightly to kiss Hannah. Drias laughed and stood up, heading to the door.

"Oh, Master?" James said, as he reached the door.

"Yes?"

"Could you find me a way I can get to Britain and back in a night?" James asked, smiling as Hannah's lips fluttered over his neck.

"I'll see." Drias said, eager to get out of the room as James met Hannah's lips on their way along his jawbone. Drias may have changed, James thought to himself, but I don't think he'll ever be able to deal if we give into temptation in his living room.

James and Hannah had only been ruining the bed covers for half an hour when Hannah untangled her self from James. He looked at her quizzically.

"I really, really have to eat." She said, laughing at James' disappointed expression as they clambered out of bed. Hannah ran the kakari over her body, removing the coating of sweat and other bodily fluids. She began to pull on her clothes, and was rather distressed to find that her trousers no longer fit. She was in the middle of planning a crash diet when she remembered the baby. She smiled involuntarily, thinking of her child. James glided into the room with a tray heaped full of bacon, egg, sausage, fried bread, scrambled egg, beans, more egg, more bacon, a glass of orange juice and a large mug of tea. Hannah hadn't even noticed him leave, but that's not important, there's food there! The greedy little voice inside her head reminded her. Her eyes widened, making sure that they were, in fact, the size of her belly. Which was getting bigger with increasing speed. She sat on James' knee and tucked into the huge pile of food.

" So?" She asked after a few mouthfuls of bacon, "Did you find a way to get back to England?"

"I don't think I'll be going back." James said, nodding at Hannah's swollen stomach.

"But James…" She started, but James interrupted.

"Look at the size of your stomach. The child's growing even quicker than before. It could be tomorrow." Hannah's eyes widened. James hugged her close to him, holding the tray of food out of the way with magic. A tear ran down Hannah's cheek. James must have felt it on his neck because he hugged her tighter and began a stream of apologies.

"I'm so sorry, Hannah. I'm sorry, I can't believe I've done this to you…" Hannah reckoned that he could have gone on a whole lot longer, but her finger on his lips stopped him.

"I can't wait to have our child, James. There's nothing to be sorry for." Hannah said, smiling at him, but there were still a few tears running down her cheeks. "Well, except for stealing a bit of my bacon on your way here." James laughed, then he frowned, confused.

"Why are you crying?" He asked gently, pulling her to him again. More tears flowed onto his top, and Hannah's voice broke as she spoke.

"James, I'm scared." She said, her hand going to her stomach unbidden.

"I know." James said, so quietly Hannah wasn't sure he'd even spoken, "I'm scared and I'm not even the one that's having the kid."

"Really?" Hannah asked, her voice muffled by James' top.

"Hell yea, I really don't want to screw this up. You're a natural mother, but I don't know the first thing about kids." Hannah laughed.

"Well, you must know something, you were one." James' eyes darkened.

"I'm not sure I was." He whispered, almost to himself. They were quiet after that, Hannah finished her breakfast and James took her over to the love seat in the corner. Hannah's eyelids drooped. They'd not been getting much sleep recently, not that Hannah minded. She yawned and snuggled into James' chest. She thought of the chaos that tomorrow would bring and her hands began to quiver. James placed a hand over hers and began to hum quietly. It was a lullaby her mother had sung her as a child, and she quickly drifted off into sleep.

Drias was fiddling with some boring looking herbs as James walked into the room. He cursed under his breath and flicked through the book in front of him.

"Still can't get that poison to work?" James asked, recognising the herbs as radjonn leaves and a silvery powder that Drias liked to call stardust.

"No. I don't even think it exists." James' hands moved almost without him noticing as he reached for the herbs. He took the long radjonn leaves and wrapped the stardust up in them. He reached into a drawer and took out a gooey paste called mage's honey. He dipped the cigarette shaped role of herbs into the paste, before coaxing small fire Drias had burning into a burning hot flame. He held the herbs above the fire for a few seconds until it turned into a reddish ash. He dropped it into a small bowl where it fell apart, forming a small pile. He repeated the process a few times, filling the small metal bowl. He turned and handed it to Drias, smiling.

James wondered off to find Jo, leaving Drias to test his poison. James knocked on Jo's half open door, peeking in. She was sitting in the middle of the room; a wooden doll was standing in front of her. James was about to speak when the knife appeared. It flew from underneath the bed and straight towards James. Numerous shields popped up around James, but he ducked anyway. Jo's eyes widened and she squealed. She ran over to James as he plucked the knife out of the stone wall.

"James! I'm so sorry I…" She started, but James finished for her.

"Was pissed at me and meant to kill the doll but got mixed up?" He asked cocking an eyebrow as he handed her the knife. She opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and nodded sheepishly. When she spoke she sounded more like the ten year old she appeared to be.

"I guess I'm kinda jealous. I don't ever get out of here, never mind find someone, get married and have a kid."

"Sure you will, just as soon as Drias finds some way to make you catch up with your age." James said, knowing that wasn't half as easy as it sounded. Jo made a sound that closely resembled a 'humph' and went to kill her doll. James checked his watch, more out of habit than to check the time, as he walked back towards the bedroom. He'd been asleep with Hannah for five hours, so he reckoned Hannah would probably get pretty hungry soon. He crept into the room, but Hannah was already awake. She smiled at him as he came in. She was on the brink of saying something, when she winced. Her hand went to her stomach. James was beside her in a flash, his hand on hers.

"What's wrong?" He asked, worried. She smiled weekly at him.

"The baby's kicking, and I think he's got your muscles." She explained. James picked her up and laid her on the bed. He pulled her top up over her stomach and gasped. Bruises covered Hannah's stomach, leaving little skin its original colour.

"The little shit." James said, looking at Hannah, "Hannah, I'm so…"

"If you say sorry, James Adams, I will give you the biggest slap." She said, smiling at him. James grinned at her.

"I'm sorry." He said, with a little smile. James stuck his chin out as Hannah's arm swung towards him. At the last second, Hannah slowed and placed her hand on the back of James' neck, pulling him in and kissing him energetically.

"Now that's what you get for being a naughty boy." She said, laughing at his surprised expression. James soon recovered and laughed with her, but his laughter stopped as he remembered Hannah's stomach. He ran his finger around it in a tight spiral towards the top, healing each bruise as he passed it. Hannah giggled.

"James! James stoppit! James that tickles!" she said, giggling uncontrollably.

"Oh?" James said, feigning innocence, "I didn't know you were ticklish." He laughed evilly, dropping onto the bed. He tickled Hannah until tears ran down her cheeks, before finally flopping back onto the pillow. Hannah followed his example, using his chest in the absence of a pillow.

"I wish you weren't so muscley." She said, catching her breath, looking at him upside down. He smiled pleasantly at her.

"Why's that?" He asked, as she slid her hand across his stomach.

"Well for one, you don't make a great pillow, and your stomach looks like some mountain range or other." James laughed as the muscles on his chest dissolved and turned into fat. "Eww!" she said, sitting up. James' chest returned to normal as she lay back down. James laughed again. Went to role over, but found that her swollen belly got in the way.

"Aw man." James said, stroking her stomach, "That could be awkward tonight." Hannah laughed and rolled onto her other side, pressing her back into James' chest.

"I' m sure we'll figure something out." She murmured as James snuggled into the crook of her neck. James sighed as the door opened, but Hannah perked up, smelling food. Drias walked in with a plate of potatoes, pork, beef and various other vegetables big enough to do two, which, James reasoned, it was. Hannah pulled her shirt back down over her stomach and sat up, smiling at Drias.

"I figured you might be hungry." He said, putting the plate on the bedside table. Hannah dug in to the food eagerly as James' master perched on the edge of the bed. After a moment of silence Drias spoke again.

"Are the swords okay?" he asked nervously.

"They're beautiful." James and Hannah said in unison. They laughed at each other before James turned back to Drias.

"And Hannah's was the perfect gift. Her talent is with a blade." James said, much to Drias' satisfaction.

"Well, um, if that's all." Drias mumbled, standing up.

"Well, actually." James said hesitantly, "I think Hannah's going to give birth sometime tomorrow, and, well, you know how crappy a healer I am…"

"Of course I'll help, James. I'm not stupid enough to let you do it alone." Drias said, smiling, "That is if Hannah doesn't mind?"

"Of course not. I'm sure James is more than capable, but any help is welcome." Hannah said, smiling pleasantly, then a thought seemed to cross her mind. "That is, unless Jo wants to help." James laughed, and Drias grinned -which was really the equivalent of laughing- as they all stood up. James, realising that he was likely to spend the rest of the day in the room anyway, sat back down. Hannah lay back on the bed beside him. Hannah looked up at James as the door swung shut behind Drias.

"You have a very high opinion of my will power, you know." James said, still smiling.

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked, frowning a little.

"Well, my first reaction to anything that's causing you pain, is to wipe it off the face of the earth. And I've been told that giving birth can be painful." James realised he was babbling nervously and shut up. Hannah laughed a little apprehensively.

"I see. Well do me a favour, and don't kill our first kid because it might be hurting me." She said, smiling at him. James cocked an eyebrow. A sly grin stretching across his face.

"Our first kid?" He asked, laughing at Hannah's shocked expression.

"Well, I didn't mean, like, our first kid…" She stuttered, but James quietened her.

"You can have as many children as you want, Hannah, but let's just get this one out first." He said, smiling reassuringly.

"Believe me, one's plenty for me." She said, laughing at his relieved expression. James put his arm round her and kissed the top of her head.

"That's my girl." They lay silently for a few minutes, slowly sinking into one consciousness. "You know," James started, but stopped as a phone rang. He listened to the ring tone for a second, before Hannah's phone came sliding out of the pocket of her jeans and scuttled across the floor, before jumping into James' hand. He glanced at Hannah, who shrugged. He hit the answer button and placed the phone to his ear apprehensively.

"Hannah Williamson!" Came the voice at the end the phone. Hannah and James' eyes widened at the exact same time. James winked at Hannah, recovering slightly.

"I' m afraid there is no Hannah Williamson at this number." He said politely.

"Don't you piss me about Mr Adams, I know she's there."

"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" James asked, mockingly polite now.

"Elizebeth Grey. Hannah's Gran, and you'd better let me speak to her." The voice on the end of the phone sounded strained now.

"Alright, alright, don't have a heart attack. Hang on." James took the phone from his ear, avoiding the barrage of abuse spouting from it. "Do you want to speak to her or will I?" He asked Hannah innocently. She smiled at him devilishly.

"I'll let you have a go first." She whispered, nodding at the, now quiet, phone. James put it back to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Well? Where is she?"

"She's just here. What do you want?"

"I'll tell you what I want, Mr Adams…" She started, but James interrupted.

"Please, call me James." He said, feigning friendliness. There was a small growl from the end of the phone before James' Gran-in-law answered.

"If my granddaughter is not back in England and speaking to me by four o'clock tomorrow, Mr Adams, I will sue you and your family for everything you have!" The old woman said, practically shouting the last bit. James' answer was calm and polite.

"Surely you don't have the need for all that money, Mrs Grey?"

"Yes or no, James?" She asked, spitting out James' name with utter hate.

"Well, you see, Hannah is sort of busy tomorrow."

"Oh yes? And what would she be doing, that is more important than her own grandmother?" She asked, deadly calm. Unintimidated, James almost laughed as he spoke. Hannah gulped, covering her ears and wincing melodramatically.

"Well, she'll be having my child." James said joyously, a huge grin crossing his face. There was a choking sound on the other end of the phone, followed by a loud clatter. James ended the call and turned to Hannah. "I think I may have just killed your Gran." He said, smiling apologetically.

"Thank goodness, I was thinking I might have to go do it myself. What a relief." Hannah replied, grinning evilly, "She always was a posh old cow." James laughed and shimmied down the bed to kiss Hannah.

"I think I'm a bad influence on you." He said, smiling as he pulled back. He just loved being with Hannah. He was just pulling the covers over Hannah and himself, when the phone rang. He sighed and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"I dropped the phone. Please say you were joking me."

"Yes, it seems I'm quite good at that." James said, but upon hearing the sigh of relief at the other end of the phone he explained, "Making people drop the phone, I mean. My father did it too, that was when I told him we were getting married."

"But, but you're only fifteen." She said, apparently going into some form of clinical shock.

"Well, officially, I'm eighteen." James said, winking at Hannah again.

"Whaaaat?" came the strangled reply. Hannah rolled her eyes and reached for the phone. She put it on speakerphone and laid it on her over sized stomach.

"Gran?" She asked cautiously.

"Hannah! Thank God! You have no idea what that thug of a boy friend of yours was telling me."

"Gran, the phone's on speaker and James is in the bed beside me." Hannah said, smiling at James. She gave him a look that said 'my turn' while her Gran tried to find the right thing to say.

"In the bed?" Her Gran asked warily. Hannah's evil grin widened.

"Yes Gran, we spent most of the morning having…"

"Don't say it!"

"Sex."

"So your friend wasn't lying. You got married, to an eighteen year old punk!" She said, accusingly.

"He's not really eighteen, Gran."

"But he said…"

"He was just trying to piss you off."

"Hannah Williamson! Do not use language like that!"

"Why not? You did. And that's Hannah Adams, actually."

"How long have you really been with him?"

"Two or three weeks."

"So you're not having a child tomorrow?"

"Oh, I'm having a kid alright."

"Who's?"

"James', Gran! Are you getting slow in your old age?" James couldn't help laughing, as Hannah went on.

"But you said you'd only known him three weeks. That's not possible."

"If I told you any more, Gran, James would have to kill you." Hannah whispered into the phone, giving James one of his own winks. James was laughing so much; he wouldn't have heard Hannah's Gran even if she could've spoken. After a long pause, in which James managed to calm down, Hannah's Gran spoke.

"What's so special about this guy?" she asked, knowing James could hear.

"I wouldn't know where to start Gran, the list is so long, but I know that you'll like that he's really rich."

"How rich?" She asked suspiciously. James stifled a laugh.

"He bought me an Island for our honeymoon."

"I see. Is that it?" Upon hearing that question, Hannah's evil grin returned.

"Well, Gran, he's an absolute rocket in bed. And every time I touch him, this electricity shoots through me like some sort of pleasant taser. So those two combined, add up to very little sleep and a lot of sticky covers." The choking sound returned, and James laughed so hard, he fell off the bed.

"Goodbye, Hannah. Do not expect to hear from me again." Hannah's Gran finally spat, before slamming the phone down. Hannah stared at the phone for a few seconds, before she too burst out laughing. James hauled himself back onto the bed, and promptly fell straight back off again. On his third attempt he finally managed to crawl across to Hannah. He kissed her square on the lips, hoping it would cure his laughter. It turned out those two minutes without air did calm him a little. As they pulled back, gasping, he gazed at Hannah's perfect features.

"What're you thinking about?" She asked, propping her head up with her arm.

"Me." James said with a wry smile.

"What about you?"

"That I'm definitely a bad influence."

"I dunno, I think I need a little 'influencing'."

"Well, if you say so," James said, sliding his hand up over her stomach to her breasts. He kissed her again, and pulling back said, "Your Gran could talk the hind legs off a freakin dunkey, you know."

"Huh, tell me about it." Hannah said, she opened her mouth to speak, but she shut it again quickly. Her face screwed up in pain and she let out a low groan. Her hands bunched into fists inside his. Her breaths came in gasps and as she slowly relaxed. James felt himself relax with her, smiling.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd have said that was a contraction." He said, smiling. The smile shrunk and panic spread through him, slowing his thoughts. "Drias!" He shouted, his voice breaking. Hannah held him close to her, smiling madly, tears ran down her cheeks. "Drias, come on!" He shouted again, forcing down the panic. Drias walked calmly in the door, his presence making both Hannah and James visibly relax. Hannah groaned again, James picked her up in his arms and kissed her forehead. "It's going to be all right." He whispered again and again, almost as much to himself as to Hannah. Magic burst from Drias, opening a door in the rock wall. James followed him through into another that strongly resembled a hospital room.

"Ok, James, can you put Hannah on the bed for me?" Drias spoke calmly as he sterilised himself with magic. James placed Hannah on the bed so gently she barely noticed his absence until she opened her eyes. She grabbed his hand and squeezed so hard James thought he was going to need a new one in the near future. "Now James, if it's okay with Hannah, I would like you to go back to your room." Drias said, command in his voice.

"Drias, you can't be serious, I mean…" James stopped dead as Hannah released his hand.

"I know you James, you'll torture yourself if you're in here. I wont let you do that." Hannah said gently, her voice barely audible even with his hearing enhanced. James was prepared to argue, but he could see in Hannah's eyes that she wouldn't budge on this one. He split silently from Hannah, watching her until the last possible second, before returning to the bedroom. He stared longingly at the door, which had been a gap in the stone when he first went through it, though now it was another beautifully carved mahogany door, which slid shut as he flopped onto the bed. He reached for Hannah's mind, but she'd blocked him out, all he could feel from her were waves of reassurance. Shit! She's probably about to suffer the worst pain she'll ever feel, and she's making sure I'm not hating myself for it! He thought, tears brimming in his eyes as he heard Hannah's breath begin to come in short gasps. She moaned in pain and James lay back on the bed, tears streaming down his face. He muttered curses at himself, bunching the bed covers in his fists, barely noticing as his fists sank into the bed, covered by the kakari, because that was when Hannah began to cry out. James clamped his hands over his ears, letting out his own moan of pain and distress. Hannah continued to cry out with varying levels of intensity. James writhed in agony on the bed, holding the pillows to the sides of his head so tight he was convinced he'd up with brain damage. Fat lot of use being in here is doing me, he thought to himself, smiling at the implications of what he'd just said, hang on! He leaped off the bed, set to march straight through the door to Hannah. He hadn't, however, gone one step before huge chains of magic wrapped themselves around him, locking his arms and legs to his body, restricting any movement what so ever. He struggled against his bonds, but they doubled with every move. A pouty looking Jo strode round to stand in front of him. She started to speak, but James would hear none of it.

"Release ME!" He roared, anger seeping from every pore.

"No. I'm tired of you always chumming around with that whore." She snapped, her tone was so far past cheeky that it had come round and kicked it up the ass. James let out a long string of swear words in various languages, stopping suddenly when Hannah cried out again, louder than before.

"James!" she cried, before words deserted her again. A huge, unrestrained anger filled James, rising in him like some dark monster. The chaining spells shattered, smashing Jo against the wall like a ragdoll. Hannah let out one final cry and fell silent. The door turned to splinters before James even reached it, he strode in taking stock of what was going on. Drias stood, holding a remarkably clean child, standing between Hannah's outstretched legs. There was a bit of blood about, but nothing serious. Hannah lay back, panting, a smile lit her face, though, and her eyes twinkled as she stared at James. The snarl dropped from his face, he dropped to his knees beside the bed, crying tears of joy, frustration, and loathing for himself all at once. Hannah hugged him with all the strength she could muster, before collapsing onto the bed again. James felt the flutter of magic as Drias set about making it look like Hannah had never had a child, but he was lost in Hannah's eyes. He could see there that she loved him. For some reason or another, he just couldn't seem to hate himself any more. Hannah sat up quickly, suddenly energised due to some more magic on Drias' part. She swung her legs over the side of the bed -which were now naked- and flung herself on James. She pressed him against the wall, kissing him ferociously. The small part of James' mind that was still functioning, noted that Hannah'd never been this, energised, before. And then it was gone. He was vaguely aware of his hands straying from the small of Hannah's back, and was considering the possibilities of sex on the floor, when Drias coughed, cleared his throat and tapped his foot. Hannah sucked on James' lower lip as she drew back. Oooh. That's always a good sign. James thought to himself, and then he remembered the baby. Oh, oh. Hannah stepped back and took the child from Drias, smiling uncontrollably. James slid his hand around her waist as she held the baby close to her. The child didn't cry, James noticed, as Hannah hugged it to her chest. Well, it's -he's- definitely a boy James noted as Hannah turned to let James see him. She handed him to James wordlessly, still grinning like a maniac. James glanced at Drias, there was a distinct 'bad vibe' coming from his direction. Hannah noticed his glance, and they both turned to look at Drias. He reached out and touched the child's forehead, frowning so hard his eyebrows nearly met on the tip of his nose. He ground his teeth as he took his hand from the boy's fore head and lifted his upper lip. James' eyes widened and Hannah gasped as Drias revealed a long fang. He touched the tip gingerly, wincing as the razor sharp fang sung into his finger. Blood coated the tip of the fang as he quickly retreated to the corner. Though his eyes remained closed, the child's tongue darted out from behind his lips and licked off the blood. James listened to him swallow in the following silence. Hannah stared into James' eyes.

"Holy shit." They swore in unison, before turning to Drias.

"You're… You're son…" He stuttered, collapsing into an invisible seat. "He's Vampere." He finally managed to whisper. Hannah reacted quicker than James, who simply stared in shock at the child in front of him.

"What?" Hannah asked in shock, "My son's a vampire! That's not even possible, they don't exist, how could they, it's not true!" She babbled, stopping as James laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Drias," James said, his voice breaking from barely concealed tension, "Please explain." James and Hannah sat, wide eyed as Drias explained that practically everything they had heard of vampires was true, however, they became extinct thousands of years ago. James missed much of the following explanation, sinking into himself. He hid from the shock and pain in his own world, running over what had happened to him in the last year. It felt like he'd stepped into a new world, where magic and vampires and, in fact, myths in general were a part of ordinary life. And he'd dragged Hannah into it. Shit. He was drawn back to the room by Hannah's hand on his thigh. Drias was on his way out the door.

"Drias?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I broke Jo." James said, smiling at the waves of relief radiating from Hannah. Whatever he missed must've been positive, he decided. Drias chuckled, and James heard a muffled moan as Drias scooped Jo off of the floor. "So…" he started, turning to Hannah. He instantly forgot what he was about to say, staring into Hannah's eyes; he saw a lust there he'd never seen there before. And he liked it. Hannah sidled over to a cot that hadn't been there five minutes ago and laid the sleeping child in it. Hannah walked seductively towards James is that even possible? He wandered, laughing at himself what is it with me? Hannah's half naked and so horny she's practically high, and that's all I can think about? Hannah perched herself on James' knee and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Did I hear that you were a naughty boy?" She asked, her voice low and husky. James frowned, remembering the terror and rage he'd felt not being able to reach Hannah. A smile spread across his face Hannah lightly kissed his neck.

"Well, Jo called you a whore. And she wouldn't let me in." James said, surprised to find his voice as husky as Hannah's. Hannah mumbled something into James' neck, which was instantly forgotten as James kissed her. She responded with the same ferocity she had earlier, pushing James back onto the bed. She swung her leg over his hips, her hands sliding across his chest and stomach. James' hands roamed freely across her curves, slipping up her top. The wooden frame of the thin bed creaked in protest as James pulled Hannah tight against him. James wondered if he would notice if it broke. Probably not.

James wandered into the room with Hannah at his side, smiling from ear to ear.

"You two ought to be more careful. That is unless you want another baby." Drias said, laughing as Hannah blushed.

"How did you know we…" James started, but Drias cut him off.

"James, I could hear you two through the solid stone walls." Drias said, blushing a little at the memory. Hannah blushed again, harder than last time.

"And I suppose that would have nothing to do with magically enhanced hearing?" James asked, cocking an eyebrow. Drias smiled ruefully.

"James, that was despite magically enhanced earplugs." James slumped onto the sofa, smiling as Hannah buried her head in his neck, waves of embarrassment emanating from her. Drias wandered off to look for Jo. James turned to Hannah. She shuffled onto his knee.

"You know what we'll need to think about before our vampire baby comes out of his self induced coma?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Never thought you'd hear yourself say that a month ago, did you?" James asked, smiling, "Um, I dunno, clothes?" Hannah laughed.

"A name, silly." She said, a thoughtful frown crossing her face. James' hand slid up her thigh, almost unbidden. Almost.

"You sound cute when you say that." He murmured, his voice low. Hannah slid her hand up his chest to his shoulder, before quickly drawing it back.

"Focus, James. We need a name." Hannah said, laughing at his dejected expression. He smiled at her puzzled frown as she tried to think of a name.

"Well, he's a vampire. Why not 'Vladimir'?" Hannah laughed again.

"Maybe something less like a character from a bad movie?"

"Vince? Vayl? Dracula?" James wondered, staring at the ceiling for inspiration.

"I like Vayl." Hannah said, smiling as she thought of her child. She couldn't decide whom she really loved more between James and Vayl. I guess I don't really have to. She though, sliding her hand back up James' chest. James noticed the thought, relieved.

"Me too," James mumbled leaning in to kiss her neck. At the last second he jerked sideways and yanked her top up, blowing a huge raspberry on her stomach. Hannah burst out laughing, feebly trying to push James' head away as he tried again. It was then that Jo decided to come in. James sat up, glaring at her with contempt. Hannah put a hand on his chest and smiled at Jo.

"Hey Jo." She said, apparently glad to see her, "James is sorry he hurt you the other day, though he'd never tell you." She said, grinning devilishly at James.

"Shit Hannah. I'm not a soft kinda guy. Anyway, Jo knows I wouldn't hurt her on purpose."

"Unless I got between you and Hannah." Jo muttered, though James could see she'd softened a little.

"Well I mean, if you want come with me to the bedroom, we could…" James started, inwardly winking at Hannah. Jo cut him off quite quickly.

"James!" She said, her voice slightly squeaky. Hannah laughed, shortly followed by James, and finally Jo. She flopped onto the couch beside James and Hannah, snuggling in between them.

"I'm sorry, guys. I guess I was just a bit jealous." Jo said, staring at Hannah admiringly. Hannah smiled at her as James slid his arm around both of them. "I like the name, by the way." She added, nodding at the cot sitting in the corner of the room. Before Hannah could say anything, Drias came in.

"Oookay," he said, like a teacher starting a lesson, "I've found out what I can about the Vampere." He looked up from his book and noticed Jo. His mouth clamped shut, as if he thought shutting his mouth hard enough would prevent Jo from his previous statement. Jo wasn't slow to catch on. She turned slowly towards James and stared at him.

"James," she asked very calmly, "is your son a vampire?" James nodded, readying a number of shields around Hannah and his son. He was willing to take anything Jo threw at him, though he couldn't see why she would. She stood up and walked to the door. Upon getting there, she turned to face them. "I'm just gonna stay out of this. Things are getting weird." And with that she left. James stared at Hannah, who stared at Drias, who stared at the wall. James ran the conversation over again in his head and burst out laughing. Hannah joined him, and even Drias smiled.

"That's a good one!" James sighed, rubbing his aching sides, "Of all the things that have happened, and now she starts to think stuff's weird." James shuffled over beside Hannah and she slid onto his knee as Drias perched himself on the edge of an armchair.

"Okay, so the kid's a vampire. He'll be faster, stronger etcetera, etcetera. He drinks blood as sustenance and reacts incredibly negatively to sunlight." Drias listed, glancing at his book for support.

"Reacts negatively to sunlight?" James asked warily.

"He'll turn to smoke."

"What?"

"There are a number of ways to kill a vampire. Holy water, which could be difficult to get your hands on since no one knows vampire's existed. It was a tightly kept secret. A stake through the heart, like the movies, will work, as will a crossbow bolt to the heart."

"That's great Drias, but we don't really want to destroy our son." Hannah said, smiling at him. Drias caught himself and buried his head back in his book. His eyes widened as he reread the surprising passage.

"Drias?" James asked cautiously. Drias blinked and looked at James, then turned and stared disbelievingly at the cot.

"Have you two thought of a name for the baby?" He asked quietly, covering the page of his book with his hand.

"Yea, we were just talking about it when you came in." Hannah replied, glancing at James in confusion.

"What is it?" Drias practically whispered. James frowned.

"Vayl."

"Holy shit." James' eyes widened as Drias swore, but before he could ask why, Drias slumped back into his chair and let out a long sigh, "Your son's been prophesied to save the world."

James hung from a familiar flagpole, watching the red and orange blobs moving in and out of what used to be his house. It was half two in the morning, and these men were moving all the furniture from my father's house. Not a good sign. James started to feel a little dizzy from hanging upside down for so long and dropped nimbly to the ground. He broke his fall with a role and slipped into an ally way. He decided on the bold approach. He slid his berretta from its holster and walked confidently into the road. James' steps were so silent that none of the men (thugs, James now realised) noticed him until he spoke.

"What are you guys up to?" He slurred drunkenly, leaning on the fence. The men looked up in surprise, hands creeping for their holsters. They visibly relaxed as they realised it was some drunk kid.

"Fuck off kid." A big man with a gravely voice growled. James stumbled closer, almost falling through the garden gate as he came towards the big guy. The man laid down the desk he was carrying.

"Come, on guys. Let me give you a hand." He stumbled over the words drunkenly, before laughing manically at his own joke as he stuck his hand out towards the hulk.

"I mean it kid, piss off or we beat the living shit outa you." The guy said again, clearly not impressed. Suddenly, James stood up straight; his eyes focusing and his legs firm underneath him. He slid easily into a fighting stance and spat on the big guy's boot.

"You couldn't hurt me if you tried." He spat, "where's my father?" The man reacted quickly, sending a well-aimed jab for James' face. Surprised by the big man's speed, James only just made it clear of the fist. The giants moustache bristled as he snarled, sweat beading on his bald head as he tried to lay a punch on James. James saw his opening after an exasperated uppercut. He grabbed the man's elbow with one hand, forcing his wrist backwards and side ways with the other. Two hideous cracks bounced off the walls as the man's elbow broke, shortly followed by his shoulder. James twisted as the man staggered forward, landing a knockout blow to the back of his head as the man passed. Everything went quiet as James straightened up, barely short of breath. All hell broke loose, however, as James heard the unmistakeable sound of a gun being cocked. James grinned, taking a few of the charging figures by surprise. They stopped running, wandering what he had up his sleeve.

"Ok kid, put your hands on your head before I blow it off your shoulders." Came a gruff voice from behind James. The man sounded closer than before, just out of James' reach. A few men slid out of the house, as two machine gun wielding giants dropped out of the cabin of the lorry, bringing the odds to about eighteen to one against James. 'I can't devour those bullets you know' The kakari piped up, full of good news as usual. 'What? I thought you could devour anything!'

'I can, just not something moving at the speed of sound' came the irritated answer. James sighed. He lifted his arms as if to place them on his head, but as his hands passed his stomach he threw them into the air pushing up with his legs with as much force as he could muster. His feet left the ground and he sailed backwards over the gunman's head, plucking the gun from his hands as he did so. He was both surprised and elated to find that it was a berretta not unlike his own. As soon as his feet hit the ground he used his momentum to throw him into a backwards role. As he came out the role he pushed off with his feet for a second time, flipping backwards towards the large lorry. His feet planted on the side of the trailer as he whipped his own berretta out. He pushed off the lorry sailing over the head of the gunman a second time, firing one well aimed shot into the man's skull. He hit the ground halfway up the garden path, rolling to break his fall. He was up and sprinting for the house as the machine gunners let rip, no doubt waking up the whole bloody street. James dived through the door, kicking it shut behind him before taking cover in the stair well. He listened carefully as all went quiet outside. He heard cautious footsteps approaching the door, the two machine gunners. Hopped into the hall as they split off to either side of the door. He stood in front of the door as one man cautiously turn the handle, flicking the safety back off of his Berettas. The door burst open and sure enough, the two hulking men with the machineguns twisted round the door frame and into the hall. James' arms shot up as the gunners' eyes widened, before flickering closed as James fired a round into each of their faces'. Their momentum kept them moving and they tumbled in the door on either side of James, but he was already gone. He shot the two pistol wielding thugs in front of him as he walked briskly down the path. A man bounced up from behind a bush -that was far too small to hide his huge shoulders- and was met by four flying bullets. James dropped to his knee and swung his guns around to take out two more men charging at him from behind. He heard their knives clatter to the ground as he whipped his body back round towards the cabin of the lorry. He froze, wide eyed. Shit! Four men were gathered in front of the truck. One held a familiar figure in front of him, a pistol to her head. The other men all had G36's pointed at her head.

"Laura?" He whispered. Laura's face was bruised and battered, dried blood still clinging to the skin in patches. She had a rebellious look on her face, however, and her eyes burned with hatred. By now a dressing gown clad crowed of astonished onlookers had arrived, making a large circle around the house. Albeit a very wide circle. There were gasps as the short fat man with the pistol flicked off the safety.

"Put down the gun kid." He snarled, showing a row of silvery coloured teeth. James' grip tightened on his pistols as he tried to find another way. He couldn't shoot all four of them before they shot Laura, and magic was totally out of the question in front of so many witnesses. Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered his arms. He let out a deep growl from the very depths of his throat as he dropped the weapons. Shiny -as James had decided to call him- smiled tauntingly, nodding to one of the guards. He waltzed up to James guardedly, his weapon raised. Almost as soon as he was within range, he slammed the butt of his rifle into the side of James' head. A little inconspicuous magic stopped the blow doing any damage, but James flopped to the ground, feigning unconsciousness. The thug struggled to lift him; surprised by his weight he called one of the other men over. James relaxed, becoming a dead weight as the second man took him by the feet. After some gasping and struggling, they dumped him in the back of the van, slamming the door behind him. James blinked, staying very still as his eyes adjusted abnormally quickly to the pitch black. The van was more or less empty, save for a few boxes. The air smelled of sweat and gun oil. James began to wonder at why they had wanted his father's furniture, but was drawn from his wonderings by voices outside the large doors. He shut his eyes, struggling to keep his anxious body limp. Four men climbed into the van and dragged him towards the front, propping him up against a box. It was all he could do not to smile. He couldn't use his magic outside because of all the witnesses, but in here it was only a matter of time. His eyes fluttered open as one of the men slapped him across the face – hard. Standing in front of him was the man with the shiny teeth, behind him stood the three machine gunners. The guns were pointed at him. James blinked lazily, acting disorientated as he brought his hand to his face. The safety flicked off two of the guns as he moved his hand. He looked up into the face of the shiny-toothed guy.

"Good morning Sunshine," He grinned, showing off his row of what James now realised were platinum teeth, "I'm Cesar, and you're fucked."

James closed the door quickly anxious not to let any blood out onto the street. He jogged round to the cabin of the truck, peeking cautiously in the window. Laura lay alone across the seats, bound and gagged. James flared with anger, the kakari pooling at the tips of his fingers. He devoured the lock quickly and swung the door open. Hopping in beside Laura, he sat her upright and let the kakari loose on a particularly difficult looking knot. He gently removed her gag, grimacing at the sight of her bruise. She flung herself on James, wordlessly sobbing into his neck. He rubbed her back slowly and rhythmically. Slowly her sobbing ebbed and she looked up. She smiled at James, tears still running down her face.

"You came." She whispered joyfully, before going limp in his arms, fast asleep. James' enhanced hearing picked up the police siren before anyone else. He scooped Laura into his arms and hopped out of the lorry, giving a big man in pyjama bottoms the fingers as he tried to grab his arm. He jogged away from the man, who couldn't go far in his bare feet, and picked up the two guns from his lawn, balancing his sister on one hand as he stuffed them in his pockets. He glanced up and down the street, annoyed to find that most of the decent cars were in garages. He slung Laura over his shoulder and shoved the now noisy bystanders out of the way as they tried to keep him near the van. As soon as he was clear he was running, one hand fishing in his pocket for his phone. He saw the reflection of blue flashing lights around the corner and ducked into an ally, the kakari rushing over Laura and himself as he dialled a number into his now invisible phone.

"Jack?" He whispered as a police car crept round the corner, evidently trying to catch him unawares. The stupid twat still had his lights on.

"James? Where the f…"

"Listen Jack, I need a car ten minutes from my house asap. I've got Laura."

"Laura? But I thought…"

"She was Jack, but now, despite almost twenty armed thugs, she's not. And I. Need. A. Car."

"Okay. I'll see you at the park in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks Jack. See you soon man."

"By J." He replied, but James' phone was already in his pocket. Laura's eyelids fluttered and James covered her mouth with his hand as gently as he could. Her eyes shot open and her fist flew into James' stomach, hard. James barely noticed, his abs might as well have been a brick wall for all Laura could punch him. Laura's eyes met James' and she instantly relaxed. James slid his hand off of her face and pulled her close.

"What did they do to you?" He whispered, his voice hoarse and tears began to brim over the edges of his eyes. He imagine all too well what those big fucking thugs would come for in the middle of the night with a girl like his sister. She was almost as hot as Hannah for fuck's sake.

"It doesn't matter anymore James." She whispered, rubbing his back soothingly now, "You came and got me." James stood up, tears running down his face. He helped Laura up, listening to the slight scuff of feet as policemen made their way back up the road from his house. The only way out of here was up.

"Okay. Laura, I need you to get onto my back and hold on tight, okay?" He whispered, crouching down a little. Laura opened her mouth to protest; before realising that James must have carried her almost two hundred metres down the street. She had no idea. She hopped onto James' back and crossed her legs around his waist and clamping her arms over his shoulders. He took her weight with ease.

"Now, don't freak out, but we're going to go invisible okay?" Laura looked confused, but nodded, tightening her grip on James. The kakari did its bit and the two of them disappeared. The policemen were getting close to the ally, going more carefully now by the sound of things. James took a deep breath as he disappeared, bending his legs. With a muttered warning to Laura, he snapped them straight and launched them into the air. Laura let out an involuntary squeal as James grabbed a second floor window ledge, hanging silently four metres off the ground as four cops shot round the corner, guns raised. Torches were fitted to the end of submachine guns that most likely had no name and were only available to the police force. They straightened up, confused. James couldn't hold on any longer, his arms were burning and his hands felt like they were coming off at the wrists. He kicked with his feet, swinging away from the wall. He swung back in, kicking off the wall with his feet and hauling himself up with his arms. He got his stomach over the edge of the gutter, rolling onto to the roof half a second before a spray of bullets ripped through the air where he'd been. He jumped to his feet, swinging his arms to get the circulation going. Laura was lying on the roof beside him, eyes wide. James grinned, before grabbing Laura's limp wrist and pulling her up onto his shoulder. Before she could complain he was off, running across the rooftops alarmingly quickly. He hopped athletically onto a lower roof before launching himself off the edge of the building and over a ten-foot barbed wire fence. Remembering that he had Laura over his shoulder (which would not make rolling easy) he landed like a cat, before dropping onto his side. Laura let out a startled "Oh!" as James got back to his feet. Laura scrambled up off the ground, her chest heaving.

"I don't know what you're panting about!" James gasped, doubling over with his hands on his thighs. After three seconds he had his breath back. He scooped Laura onto his shoulder and set off at a quick jog across a huge open field. The lights from a large factory, which looked to be almost half a mile away, faintly illuminated the tufts of grass, sticking up randomly.

"Can't we…" Laura started, speaking through the bumps as James ran, "have a break?"

"Nope."

"Why the hell not?"

"Cause we have to get to the forest… and then the car… before the police helicopter comes to find us." James panted, sprinting now, as his heightened hearing picked up the distant throb of the helicopter. Laura didn't see the fence coming up, and almost didn't grab on as James shouted for her to hold on. A second later James was clambering up the wire -normal wire this time, Hannah presumed- at a jogging speed. Hannah lost all sense of direction as James somersaulted over the top of the fence, catching a tree branch a few feet from the ground. He sat Laura on her feet calmly, laughing as she staggered back against a tree.

"What are you?" She whispered, eyes wide. James was still searching for a suitable answer when the helicopter flew over. The trees had done well in masking their body heat, but James wasn't taking any chances. He grabbed Laura's hand and dragged her along as he ran, flitting through the trees soundlessly. Laura wasn't as silent, but she was trying her best. After ten long minutes, they reached the edge of the forest. Of all the things Laura had expected, a children's play park wasn't one of them. The kakari sank back into James' skin, and Laura realised that she'd been able to see James the whole time.

"James, I think your invisible thingy's broken." She whispered, glancing nervously at him. He cocked his eyebrow the way he always did, smiling at her casually. "I could see you the whole time. When you said we were invisible." James' eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Impossible!" He muttered, running through the options in his mind. Only a maegi or a rare breed of magus could have seen him covered in the kakari, or maybe the kakari wasn't working.

I'm 'working' just fine thank you very much. The kakari muttered in his head. That only left the maegi option, which James was sure his sister wasn't; he'd already hunted through her mind for any traces of magic. "I don't know how that happened. I'll ask Drias about it later on."

"Who's Drias?"

"You'll see later on. Come on, we're going to wait in the park." James smiled in what he hoped was a confident fashion, before hopping nimbly over the fence. Laura stared at him in disbelief.

"All that running and we're going to sit in the middle of a park? They'll find us straight away! It's like, the worst place to hide!"

"Which is why they won't bother us here." James smiled, jumping up and grabbing onto the bar above the swings, immediately pulling up into a chin up. Laura sighed and clambered over the low fence and walked over to sit on the swing beside James' rising and falling feet. After sitting for a minute in silence, James pulled himself up onto the top of the bar, looking down the street expectantly.

"Who're you waiting for?" Laura asked, curios as to how they were going to get to this 'Drias'. As if on cue, a car roared round the corner, screeching to a halt by the park. Laura jumped up off of the swing in surprise, and James, who couldn't resist showing off, did a neat forward flip off of the swings, rolling out of the landing. Jack tutted as he climbed out of the Lamborghini.

"You just have to show off don't you James?" He laughed as James jogged over to the car. He turned to Laura, grinning. The smile dropped from his face as he saw the bruising. His fists clenched at his sides. Jack was about Laura's age, and they'd always been close. She ran over to him and flung her arms around his neck. Jack wrapped his arms around her, but James knew they didn't have the time.

"Okay, Laura, get in the car. Jack, I need you to sort out the mess up at our place as best you can." Laura appeared not to hear him, but Jack gently pried her off of him. She sighed, and with a final glance at Jack, slid in the open door and behind the wheel. James opened the passenger door and stuck his head in. He cleared his throat noisily. Laura looked up expectantly. "I'll drive." He whispered, winking at her. Her eyebrows shot up.

"Oh no you will not, young man." She said, sitting up straighter, "You're only fifteen. And any way, you can't drive."

"Trust me Laura, I can drive. Anyway, I know where we're going." Laura looked like she was about to protest, but glanced back at the forest and sighed.

"I guess there was a lot dad didn't tell me." She sighed again as she clambered out of the car. James was in the driver's seat, almost as soon as she was out of it.

"Sorry we couldn't talk long Jack. I'll ring you some time." James smiled, starting the beefy engine as Laura sank into the hard racing seat as if it was a beanbag. Jack gave James a mocking salute and winked at Laura, before sinking back into the shadows of an ally way. James floored the accelerator, the 600cc engine roared and the low orange car hit forty as it disappeared around the corner. Laura watched in astonishment as James expertly shifted up through the gears as they left the town and found their way onto motorway. There were no cars to be seen and James grinned as he shifted into sixth doing 158 mph. Laura recovered from the shock of seeing James drive and turned to glare at him.

"What the hell are you doing? You'll get us killed, and what will the police think when they see a sports car doing 180mph?"

"They'll say, 'oh look its Officer Price in that new lambo of his, I wonder where he's going' and bugger off somewhere else." James smiled casually, but he slowed down to 120, accepting that, even his reflexes were not sufficient to drive at that speed.

"Thank you." Laura sighed, leaning back into the chair, then she looked up at him, confused. "Officer Price?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face. James laughed and tapped the side of his nose theatrically.

James pulled up in front of a ragged looking gate leading into an old pine forest. They'd pulled off the motorway an hour ago, and since then they'd been driving along twisting country roads, quickly. James got silently out of the car, closing his own door before walking briskly around the car to Laura's side. He opened the door gently, catching Laura's head as it lolled to the side. He shook her gently, grimacing as she tensed and bunched her fists.

"Shh, it's only me. We have to go." Laura relaxed, blinking as she clambered out of the car. She stumbled along, clinging to James' arm as he made his way through the trees. She was just about to ask where they were going, when they strode into a large clearing. The trees were dense around the clearing and James saw Laura glancing around nervously. James walked confidently to the middle of the clearing and stopped, turning to look at Laura.

"What?" She asked, suspicious of his strange look.

"I'm going to do something weird, and I need you're permission."

"What?" She repeated, sounding a little more relaxed.

"I'm going to alter our bone structures. And then I'm going to grow wings." James said, smiling as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe it wasn't, for him anyway.

"Okay."

"That's it?"

"Yea, just do it." James nodded, and without another word, sat down and crossed his legs. He looked up at her and smiled, his eyes glowing a deep purple. Slowly, Laura felt her self changing. Her arms and head felt lighter. Her muscles moved without hesitation, and slowly she felt lighter. The same was happening to James. After a few seconds, James stood up. Without a word, he pulled off his shirt and stuffed it into his pocket. Laura winced as there was a sickening crunch from James' direction, shortly followed by a number sounds that sounded like rock tearing to Laura. These sounds continued for a number of minutes, and James' face crunched up in pain and concentration. The wrenching sounds stopped, giving way to a sound that Laura could only truly relate to accelerated hair growth, not that she'd ever heard hair grow… James, who now had sweat streaming down his face, disrupted her thoughts. He straightened up, getting his breath back quickly and grinning.

"What now?" Laura asked, still not completely convinced James was going to grow wings.

"Open sesamé!" he announced with a flourish, bowing as giant eagle wings snapped open behind him. Laura gasped and staggered back as James straightened up. He tutted and scooped her into his arms, tying her to his chest with magic. Before she could protest, he flexed his shoulders and beat his massive wings. He bent his legs and leaped into the air. Laura screamed as he quickly gained height, each beat of his wings launching him upwards.

James suddenly realised he was falling. Instantly, he was awake. He twisted in the air, snapping his wings open. The slight jolt woke Laura, who looked up at James in confusion. He smiled at her reassuringly, something he had become increasingly good at, despite the fact that he was shitting himself. They were worryingly near the water, and if he didn't pull up soon they would hit it and splat as if they'd hit a brick wall. If he pulled up too soon however, his wings would snap off, which would, no doubt, hurt. He began to angle his descent, gradually heading for horizontal. His wings strained as steepened his curve, still doubtful as to whether he was going to make the curve.

"Brace yourself," he shouted in Laura's ear, "and don't look down!" He finished, before crying out as his wings strained to pull them up. He couldn't even use magic, or his wings would disappear. The water rushed towards him, at an angle! He was going to make it. James was surprised to find himself laughing madly as he skimmed along, centimetres from the sea. His wings were agony and Laura was screaming her head off and he was going to die, should a wave come along, but he was alive. Laura's screaming slowly subsided, and James groaned as he began to lift them back into the air, pain lancing through his wings and back with every flap. James wiped his streaming eyes with the back of his hand as the pain in his wings slowly ebbed. Once they were back whipping through the clouds Laura waved her hands in front of James' face.

"What the hell was that?" She shouted over the wind, glancing fearfully down at the ocean.

"I don't know, I, I think I fell asleep." James shouted back, yawning at the thought of rest.

"How long have you been up?" Laura asked, James glanced at his watch. He yawned again as he realised he'd been up for about two days straight, with out eating or drinking and burning off about 5000 calories each day.

"About two days." He shouted, wiping his face as they came out of an especially soggy cloud. He opened his eyes and grinned as he saw the rapidly approaching coastline, he scanned the flat expanse of desert for the mountain range that shadowed Drias' caves. Spotting it he angled towards it, wincing at the pain in his wings.

Laura had dozed off again as James spiralled down towards Drias' hidden entrance. He landed with a thud and stumbled forwards, releasing the magic that held Laura to his chest. They both landed in a heap on the sand. The trap door opened and a heap of sand slid off the top and Drias and Hannah rushed out. Drias walked calmly over to Laura and helped her up. Hannah ran over to James and wrapped her arms around him, tears running down her face. James was on the brink of unconsciousness, but Hannah's tears on his face dragged him back."

"What's wrong?" He mumbled, putting an awful lot of effort into lifting his hand to Hannah's face.

"I thought you were going to die." She whispered, clinging to him.

"Why?" He whispered back, confused.

"I was still in your head when you fell." She replied, smiling. She kissed James' eyelids as he drifted into sleep, a smile on his face.

James groaned as he opened his eyes. Everything hurt. He tried to sit up, but his back cramped and he groaned again as fell back to the bed. Hannah stirred beside him. James winced at the pain in his neck as he turned to see her.

"Aw man." He croaked. Hannah was lying on her back, sleepy eyed and dressed in a skimpy black lace bra and panties. He tried to move his hand up to her, but even his arm was sore. Hannah rubbed her eyes and smiled, turning and running her hand up James' arm.

"How do you feel?" She asked, shuffling closer to him.

"Sore," he replied wincing as Hannah began to massage his shoulders. "You never told me you were a qualified masseuse." James smiled, as the tension in his shoulders slowly began to ease.

"Jo taught me yesterday, when you were sleeping. She said you'd be sore" Hannah said quietly, moving onto James' arms.

"How long was I out of it?" He asked, stifling a whimper of pain as Hannah gently rolled him onto his front.

"You got back early yesterday morning. Drias thought you would sleep longer than this." Hannah smiled, straddling James' bum and gently massaging his strained muscles.

"I'm sorry I scared you." He whispered, rolling the last traces of stiffness out of his shoulders, before turning underneath Hannah.

"It's okay, I mean what could you have done about it?" She smiled, lowering herself onto James' chest.

"I could have stayed." James whispered, shivering with anticipation as Hannah lightly kissed her way along his collarbone and up his neck.

"And leave your sister with those thugs?"

"I s'pose."

"And anyway, I didn't really have anything to worry about. You said you would come back."

"True. It's never happened before though, I don't know what would happen if I were at the bottom of the sea." Hannah sighed.

"I can hardly bear to think about it. Let's get some breakfast." She went as if to get up, but James was suddenly there, kissing her. They both collapsed back onto the bed. It was going to be a late breakfast.

James shuffled into the living room, his arm around Hannah's shoulders, a determined look on his face. Laura, Drias and Jo were sat around the coffee table, eating cereal from wooden bowls. Drias dropped his bowl and came over to help James, supporting most of his weight on one arm as they made their way across the large stone room.

"What the hell are you doing up and about?" Drias demanded once he had James down on the sofa.

"He wouldn't stay in bed any longer!" Hannah butted in, sitting down beside James, "I tried to tell him."

"Look, guys, I'm fine, honestly." James tried to say, but Drias wasn't having it.

"No James, you're not." He said firmly, "You had some serious muscle damage all across your back and some minor spinal injuries, not to mention the strain there was on the rest of your skeleton."

"Honestly, I'm okay. I'd know if there was something wrong." James assured him.

"Well you obviously don't, do you?" Drias retorted, putting his hand on James' bare shoulder. "What the hell?" He muttered, looking at James with surprise.

"Why can't you just fix it with a bit of magic anyhow?" James asked, easing himself back into the chair.

"Umm, it would appear that it's fixed itself." Drias muttered, frowning, before breaking out into a smile. "You never cease to amaze James!"

"I told I was fine. Why couldn't you have fixed it with magic any way?" James asked as Drias dropped onto the seat beside him.

"Spinal injuries are too delicate. Magic just puts stuff back together, it's not precise. Not the way we use it any way."

"Not the way we use it?" James asked, intrigued.

"It's a long story, for another day." Drias said, avoiding the matter rather obviously, "Just now we need to worry about your father. And us." James cocked an eyebrow as he slumped back in his seat.

"While you were out of it a messenger came wandering through the desert and almost right up to our front door, he walked past it by about ten feet."

"Where did he go?"

"He hunted about around this area for most of the afternoon before he finally found the trap door. He was dead before he touched the handle."

"So what makes you think he was a messenger?" James asked, silently disturbed by the news, he'd always thought himself safe from detection here. Drias answered by pulling a typed note from his pocket and handing it to James. It read:

Dear sorcerer

This is a simple hostage situation. Come to warehouse 14a on Sundergrowr Street at midnight on the 23rd of May or we will kill your father.

Yours sincerely

The Society

James read it over a couple of times. He sighed, slumping back into his chair.

"Do you think they know what I'm capable of?" He asked, suddenly feeling very tired. Drias frowned slightly.

"That depends on what you did while you were away." He said slowly. He didn't look hopeful. He knew James too well for that.

"I slaughtered about twenty armed thugs." James muttered, dipping his head slightly. Hannah's eyes widened and she let out a little squeak. Drias let out a little sigh. It was never good when Drias sighed.

A/N: well guys, that's as far as i got. Review please. Tell me if i should keep writing. :)