Always Remember

I wasn't sure how we had ended up in this mess. Hunter was dead, Delos had vaporized him, hadn't he? Either way, I had been at home with Circle Daybreak and with Delos. Then the lights went out. I could feel Delos stand with me in his arms, tense as for a fight. I had tried to sit him down. I heard a hard whack and then Delos fell, on me. Delos wasn't heavy, only 110 pounds. But now it was 110 pounds of dead weight. I heard his breathing, and I knew he was unconscious. I tried to heave him off of me, but when I put my hand on the back of his head, I felt wetness. Blood. The thick midnight red liquid was staining the carpet beneath us. I panicked.

"Delos, Delos! Are you alright?" I sounded hysterical. I heard chuckling. A woman. Then I felt a wooden fighting stick slam into my head and I was out…

And I had had woken up here, back in the hunting grounds of the now abandoned Dark Kingdom. Delos stirred beside me, he was very pale and his fangs indented his bottom lip. He was in vampire mode. I shook his shoulder gently, blood was all over the back of his dark blue shirt. His eyes fluttered open, but they weren't groggy or unfocused.

"We're in the Dark Kingdom." He said solemnly. I saw Jeanne, P.J., and Aradia lying on the grass beside him. They all awoke groggily.

"Where are we?" One of them asked, I recognized the chipped voice immediately. Jeanne.

"The Dark Kingdom hunting grounds." Delos repeated. I could hear the suspicion in his clipped tone. Oh man, was he angry!

"Why'd you bring us here?" He was as mad as it gets. I woman in a beautiful blue dress stepped forward.

"Good evening, Prince Delos." She bowed.

"Answer the question, Maya." My blood froze. Maya Redfern. Hunter's soul mate.

"For a very special hunt." Not again. Suddenly, we were all running. I was on Delos's back, heading to the trees. He was un bracing his left arm. He broke and sharpened five sticks with a dagger on his belt. He handed us each one of the new spears. Something confused me though. Both ends were sharpened. He took his dagger back out and laid it on a flat stone. A small bolt of blue fire hit it and his dipped one end of each of our weapons on the now melted dagger. Silver and wood tipped. I see. Then we ran again. I stabbed a vampire in the heart that had jumped in my path. He let out a startled gurgling sound as he dropped. I ended up using both sides by the time I came to the hollow of a tree. I hid after I had washed away my scent.

'Maggie?' Delos's voice entered my head.

'Yeah?' I asked back through our telekinetic bond. He sounded so weak when he answered.

'You're alright.' He breathed in her head.

'Are you alright? You sound so weak.' I asked him. He laughed in my head.

'Yeah, it's just from using the blue fire, that's all.' I sighed with relief. Relief which ended the next second when I heard a scream. Jeanne. They had her. Then all in a row more screams sounded. Aradia. P.J. I strained my ears and clasped my hands over them.

'Delos, did you hear that?' I asked through the bond. No answer.

'Delos?' I asked a little more loudly. No answer. Panic and pain streamed into my chest. Closing my throat in a lump, unable to breath.

'Delos?' I asked, no screamed through the silver cord. Still, no answer. I felt sobs erupt in my chest.

'Maggie?' Came a very weak, pained response.

'Delos, what's wrong? Please, tell me.' My panic eased a bit at his answering me, signaling me he was still alive. For now.

'The truth?' He asked gravely.

'Yes.' I wasn't sure if I wanted to know anymore.

'I headed in the direction of Jeanne's scream. I found her in the meadow, dead. I heard a growl. But I didn't turn quick enough and I got..' His voice trailed of weakly, followed a strange gurgling sound replacing his perfect voice. My heart broke into a million pieces.

'Where are you? I have to find you.'

'No.'

'Where?' My mental voice was choking.

'Meadow.' Then the cord broke, our communication broken. I ran to the meadow. I averted my eyes from my dead friend in the center of the field to my soul mate, lying on his back. With the very weapon he had made for Jeanne sticking straight out of his chest. Silver side up. I collapsed beside him, my eyes wild and as wide as they could go. I clasped a hand to my mouth, holding back the devastated sound from coming out. Yards away, his attacker was dead on his stomach with the silver side of Delos's weapon sticking out between his shoulder blades. I didn't focus on that long. I yanked the weapon out of Delos's chest. Blood spluttered out of the wound as his chest convulsed painfully. His eyes opened with effort. A dull yellow with no light in the them. He smiled. His chest convulsed one more time, a trail of dark red liquid escaped his lips. He licked his lips. He swallowed, then his breathing, which had been uneven and loud through his teeth, stopped all together. His head flopped to the ground lifelessly, the smile gone. His dull eyes were still open. I held back a sob as I reached out and touched his cheek, cold and clammy. And pale.

'It's because his heart stopped pumping blood.' A distant part of her mind told her. A cold, rational part of her mind.

"No! Don't die on me! I need you, Delos!" I screamed, shaking his lifeless shoulders hard. Tears were running down my cheeks, my words muffled by sobs. I felt something on my arm comforting me. Or, at least trying to. I saw Delos's hand moving up and down my arm. A warm smile played on his lips weakly. I had to lean forward to hear his words.

'His last words.' That cold, totally rational part of my mind thought.

"Remember." He said hoarsely. Then I felt his life leave him. I hugged his body tight to my own. Crying, sobbing, wheezing. I hiccupped when my cries ended. I buried my face in his cold, dead shoulder. I lay him back down on the soft spring grass and closed those beautiful yellow eyes that seemed oddly flat.

"I love you." I whispered to him, kissing his forehead. I felt the silver cord strain once. So it wasn't broken after all. Just slackened.

'I love you, I did love you, always remember that'. Came the beautiful sound of Delos's voice in my head. It shocked me to the core. A single bolt of happiness of just hearing his perfect voice, a single feeling of extreme happiness of his message. He was saying exactly what he had in my dream, oh so many years ago. Had it really been 9 years since we met, 8 years since I had become a vampire? I smiled. I could swear I could see him in the meadow beside me. A easy smile lighting his face, his fearless yellow eyes alive and glistening wetly. His hand rubbed my cheek and I got goose bumps where he made contact with my skin. His whole form was shimmering with a golden light. He kissed me and again It felt life two raindrops falling together. He stepped back and his transparent form dispersed. Leaving behind a slight glitter in the air.

'Always remember.' He repeated from no where, a slight wind chill to his voice. His lovely scent of snow and wild flowers had permeated the air, permanently leaving a mark in the meadow. My chest felt heavy and silver cord snapped for real this time. And I was alone. But I would never forget. I would always remember.