This is the sequel to 'The Recruits' you don't need to read that to get this, but it helps

AS SILENCE FALLS

It had all started so innocently.

Love had blossomed where it should have not been capable to bloom; yet they had their own little way to keep it together.

Things hadn't been so complicated back then, lands to conquer, blood to spill while the woman were kept back home in their shadowy stone houses with their meek slaves.

But he had been different and that was the thing that had attracted her to him. The smile, the air of confidence where there should have been a docile obedience and also the wisdom that showed in his eyes.

There were whispers she heard from her personal maids, things about an old soul, about remembering lives before his present one. But that had been back then, when the unexplained could stay like that, where monsters in the shadows were allowed to hide, not hunted or tracked down.

It was a time of naivety and innocence, a time of easy explanations.

A time when a creature of the nightworld fell in love with a man lower than her kind. Someone that could rip away the sweet threads of her life that she had been sewing so delicately for so long now.

But she had let him so lovingly.

She had screamed when she had found him dead.

He had been her only love, a human that had not been enough for her family; a point that they only showed in his demise.

She had screamed and cried and lashed out and they had stood there cold.

So she had run, ran away with her guilt and the unborn half-breed in her womb.

"Welcome to paradise," Mia muttered as the car pulled up beside the college grounds.

Jessica tried not to laugh, "Nice," she couldn't lie, compared to the compound this was like a country retreat. The grounds were mostly green with the tree and plant life and the building were set back as students strolled by. Compared to her old life this was a breath of fresh air, the company at last was giving her a little freedom.

Freedom that didn't taste as good as it should have, she had lost her boyfriend and her faith in friendship to get their permission for this. Once she was useless for their method of teaming partners up with each other the only thing left for her was to send her off to a remote destination and leave her to do all the work that no one else wanted to do.

Things had changed too much in the last year and she was happy that she was as far away as possible. She looked aside to her to Mia and smiled, "so where's my abode then?"

Mia blue eyes twinkled, enjoying the fact that Jess was happy for once, "there's a shared house that is owned by this sweet witch," Mia started the engine again and started off down the road, "you'll get your own room but you'll be sharing the house with two other students and Matilda."

They round the corner and freshly cut lawns passed their view, white picket fences with the childhood dream houses behind them, "Matilda's the witch I was telling you about. She's a sweet lady; she's in her late thirties and doesn't force you to mingle with the others if you don't want to. The Company is paying the rent and other costs so you don't have to worry about a thing. I wish I was getting to go to college."

Jess just looked at her, she wished she was too, out of all of this the scariest thought was starting this all on her own, when for the last twelve years she'd had all her friends from her group constantly around her. Settling in here without the others was going to be strange, she was just happy that the Company was paying her cell phone calls; she was going to be phoning back home a lot.

Home, the thought flashed in her mind, she hadn't really realized until now that she hadn't really had one.

They stopped outside a rickety house; wooden beams seemed to be holding it up with weatherworn panels giving the house its other appealing feature. A warm scent of flowers filled her senses at she noticed that the garden was filled with them and lofty trees. Out of the whole neighbourhood they had just driven through, this house stuck out like a sore thumb and she liked it instantly.

She got out of the car in awe and stared out at it, she would be living here? Well at least things were starting out at a good point; she turned around to Mia who was beaming at her.

"Pretty cool, hey?"

Jess couldn't do anything but agree as she nodded dumbfounded.

As Mia went around to the back of the car she got out all her luggage, Jess went round to help her. She hadn't got a lot of stuff, some clothes, her CD's and some old photos. Just no matter what she did these days she couldn't bring her self to throw them away, Ryan's face would beam out at her and all she could feel was bitter deceit, yet she still kept them.

No matter how much she had made herself hate him over the last year she couldn't erase the little things, the way his past was entwined with hers. No matter how she tried he would always be there, it didn't matter if it wasn't physical he had helped her become who she was and to erase him completely meant that she would have to erase her past and she wasn't exactly sure she could do that.

Remembering to pick up her small stereo from the back seat Jess hung her bag from her shoulder and walked behind Mia to the looming house. She could see herself fitting in here, just not with the people. She had never been taught how to socialise properly with outsiders, kill them, kidnap them and in some cases even seduce them but never friendship, they had seen that as a risk that they didn't want to take, so Jess had to forego that courtesy.

It didn't used to bother her but she always had the ten others she trained with and had never wished to make friends with anyone else, but things had changed. A lot of things had changed and no matter how much she kept telling herself it was for the better it still didn't stop the aching feeling inside.

But that was the past and she had promised herself that was where it would stay.

Mia knocked on the wooden door and waited patiently for an answer. Juggling her possessions Jess surveyed her surroundings, so this would be her hauntings for the next few months. At least it would be an easy area to get lost in, easy place to hide bodies; she couldn't help but smile to herself. Even when she was away from the Company she was thinking about work.

Jess swung around as the door was answered and a vibrant woman stood before them smiling, all Jess could do was blink frantically at her. She wore a bright orange dress with a yellow flower pattern on it, with a warm smile she welcomed them in.

All she could do was guess that it was Matilda; the woman had the grounded look about her that all witches seemed to have inherited. It was that and the fact that she wore a silver necklace with her name etched upon it.

"Welcome,"

Jess looked at the woman, her new landlady and wondered if she knew the truth or if like the others she believed the lies that the Company dished out for her. Brought up by someone in the Nightworld was the main one that was why she knew so much, but people always grew suspicious.

"Thank you," what else could she say, the 'do you realise what you're getting yourself into?' wasn't always the best line.

"I'll show you to your room, follow me,"

They followed the woman down the hallway and up the stairs, the place smelled of lavender and flowers she couldn't recognise, it smelled nice, welcoming almost. It smelt like home.

The room was at the top of the stairs and just off to the right, it was large and was painted a cream colour but that wasn't the real thing that took her attention it was the view from the window, the garden that stretched out the back and languidly met up to an entrance of a forest.

She hadn't seen the forest from the front of the house and the drive up here, the houses must have sheltered it from view. She felt Matilda at her side; "it runs about a couple of miles wide and about three across, all the houses on this row cover it from sight. I thought you would appreciate the view."

Jess felt it wasn't the right time to ask why.

Matilda left her where she was, dropping some keys on the table for her she made her leave. It was odd being here after all this time, doing something normal when her life had been nothing like it. She felt a twinge of guilt as Mia came up behind her and whistled as she saw the view out of the window.

"Well at least one of us is living in luxury." It was a partial lie of course; Mia lived in a very expensive apartment block that cost the Company more than imaginable. But overall it was a minor percentage from what the Company earned from her, what seemed from the outside a well-paid and luxurious job was really peanuts from the money that was really earned.

Jessica shrugged and looked back over to her best friend, "what am I doing?"

Mia laughed at her, "Exactly what you should be, we've all grounded you down enough. You deserve this even if it is only part time retirement."

"Part time retirement, you make me sound old."

For her own part Mia held her tongue, they were all old and that was saying it simply. What they did made them so; people should only have ghosts following them when they're near enough to being one themselves. All of their associates had a league of them already; it was hard to look through to the future when the things that haunted you clouded your path.

"We're still young," was all Mia could mutter, "Still got time."

Time for what was the only thing.

Jess nodded and sat herself down on the bed, "I'm going to miss you, all of you."

They both knew the truth; this was a type of goodbye. Things always had a habit of sneaking up on them. In the last year they had lost two associates out of the company, excluding Ryan's insubordination. None of them had been in the same training year as them but the hurt had still been felt, something was going on within the company, they could feel it within their bones.

"Me too."

Jess looked at her friend and gave her a wobbly smile.

It took her a while to settle in, to say goodbye to Mia as she drove off. Most probably back to Gunner and a life that Jessica would barely be involved in anymore. She didn't know what to do afterwards; she just sat there looking out of her bedroom window as the sun slowly sunk from the sky.

She eventually resigned to the fact that she would have to go down stairs as she heard laughter float up. If she was any other girl she would have been scared, it was a big thing to move into a house full of absolute strangers.

But to Jessica it all seemed silly, why would she have to be afraid of them for? They would only be people, night worlders, but still people. She had drawn many deathblows to their kind in the past; the pretence of her fear was no longer needed.

The floorboards should have creaked as she went down the stairs but she had already figured out its quiet parts as she dragged all her belongings up earlier. So she walked down and followed the sound of the laughter to the end of the house and into a light and airy kitchen that smelled of distinctive concoctions, she hadn't been friends with Mia for so long and not pick up a few things.

Matilda and two more girls sat around and old oak table, sipping tea and gossiping. She had been standing there over two minutes until any of them realised that she was there. Matilda's eye's flickered up and a warm smile covered her face.

"Jessica."

With that the two others turned around. They were both pretty she supposed, both pretty and night world. It was a rarity if you ever saw an ugly night worlder, a rarity and bad luck.

The first introduced herself as Millie and she was a lamia. She had pale creamy skin, blue eyes and the long brown hair. Millie seemed such a childish name to Jessica, but seeing Millie now, she was nothing but childish. She was eighteen and every boy's fantasy, long legs, curves all in the right places and that special little touch. Her eyes that somehow held all those little promises men would burn over.

And then there was Eve; she wasn't much as attractive as Millie. Eve wore small spectacles with clear intelligent brown eyes underneath. She was a witch like Mia, but in Jessica's eyes less impressive. She had long silky brown hair down to her waist and wore it in a braid; Jessica could imagine all the boys having their eyes on these two.

She was hoping that maybe that wouldn't have the same speculation about her, Jessica was pretty. She knew that and in many assignments had used that to advantage. But it was different now. She didn't want to be chased because of her looks; she simply didn't want to be chased at all.

She knew deep down that her heart still mourned for Ryan and it was going to take her still a long to recover from him. It was always Ryan these days; no matter where her thoughts started they always ended with him. It had been nearly a year now and it still hurt.

But hearts first love and all that other crap, she had tried to rationalise it in her brain for so long now, some how to make the pain go away. But it hadn't, she might be cold on the outside but on the inside a fire burned, a fire earning for what was once hers.

Somehow now that could never be.

She turned her attention back to the others settled around the table and sat down to join them. They sat in silence for a couple of moments, unsure what to say and how to say it.

"So…" Millie started weakly, "how are you finding it here."

"Quiet," Jess stated, a smile curling on her face, "I'm a city girl; I'm used to the throng of people and the herds of cars. This is going to take me a while to get used to."

Eve smiled, "yeah, I used to live in a big town before this. It takes a couple of weeks to get used to the fact there's no street lights and no one around the corner to mug you and the fact anything hardly ever happens."

Millie huffed a sign of disbelief, "apart from the random vigilante killings."

Jessica's eyebrows rose, the Company had mentioned a small job that she would have to do before settling in. "hunters?"

"We think," Matilda uneasily fiddled with the edge of the table cloth, "they only attack night worlders so you should be alright… but I'd work on the way you walk if I was you. I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea."

The conversation took a swift divert, "so who brought you up," quizzed Eve as she glanced over to Millie, "I mean Matilda filled us in about you knowing about us and stuff."

"Shifters," she lied easily.

She had already run this through with Ivy who had run it through with Kyle for believability, even though he had retired Kyle was still there as an advisor for Ivy as she slowly shifted into the demands of her work. Once the story they ran through was convincing enough and ingrained well into Jess's memory a memo was sent out to every assassin so they never tripped up when asked about her. From now on this was going to be her new identity.

"I had problems at home when I was a kid and they took me in, easy as that," she shrugged, "they had a few council problems because of it in the end and emigrated a year back."

They all nodded as if they believed her and eventually settled into some more trivial conversation. Trivial enough that Jess got bored and made good enough reason for her to leave, she trailed her way upstairs and locked herself in her room.

This was going to have to be her new home and even though it seemed bland and superficial, she was going to have to get used to it.

From a life of killing and extreme life and death experiences, her life had turned to this. Something she would have to get used to.

So, a normal life, what a change this would be.

Just hopefully this would be for the good.

Chapter One

Tristan life was anything but normal, a man born with memories not of his own and haunted by past mistakes and grudges.

Longing for a lover he knew that was long gone. He had known about the nightworld even before he could construct coherent thoughts. He knew and feared them, fear that had slowly turned into hate.

He had let it consume him, this hatred that had no way to escape except by hurting the people around him. So he had done the only thing he could do. He had left and went to make a life for himself.

Left his parents' dead bodies sprawled upon the floor and their life savings gone. He had once had a heart but from past life experiences he had found out the consequences of it. He didn't like the idea of ending this life by being knifed again; he wanted to believe that he had learnt from past mistakes.

But a heart's wanton desires seem anything but reckless and he had thought he was alive then and especially when she was within his arms, but within a flicker of a blade that had all ended. So this life was spent tying up ends of old grudges, using the night world's own children against them.

It hadn't been easy, he had to be trained so he was good enough to deceive the night worlders, deceive them both mentally and physically. He had to prove to himself first that the night worlders weren't invincible and he had with ease. Standing over the fallen bodies, still waiting for that crucial feeling where he would feel triumph soar through him.

The feeling had never come so he had let the empty feeling consume him; he had soon found other people keen enough to join his cause though and his company had slowly built itself up and the first recruits all marked out.

He had thought upon the consequences of his actions, sure he had. The deaths and the empty hearts of the parents, he had tried not to think about it too much, other things always seemed to take prerogative. The night worlders were a menace and needed a lesson taught to them, it wasn't until it was too late that he realised what he had turned into.

Jessica twiddled with the handle of her knife as she waited for her next target to turn up. She had everything planned out, her bait was in view and the target had been killing in this area for the last two weeks, she knew because she had been watching her.

She was good, good but over confident in many ways. She already knew where her weak points were in her attacks and knew how to catch her out every time. The only complexity now was the decision if she was going to wait until the bait had been killed or go in and save the day.

There was a problem with each case was that if she let the bait get killed she would have two bodies to get rid of and if not, well she never wore a mask and wasn't going to start anytime soon. The guy would see her either as a vigilante heroine and thus gaining her unnecessary attention or to the other extreme he could think she was another hunter who just happened to have a grudge against the former.

The way her mind was going she wanted to go with her first thoughts, the last two weeks here had been fine, mainly because she kept out of everyone's way. She had never put herself down as a solitary type of person before, but she had never really had a choice in the compound.

She watched the guy wandering the area, keeping her presence to the shadows. She hadn't seen him before and was new to the area; a perfect choice for her target. The target was a girl who was in her art class. It had taken only a couple of hours in her presence to guess what she was. The girl was no good at suppressing her anger and disgust; it was just a pity for her that the college was widely populated with night worlders.

That was one of the main reasons for coming here; she had never really felt at ease in the company of humans, her own kind and a bunch of people she couldn't understand.

The problem for the girl was that she couldn't bring attention to herself. She had been targeting rogue and solitary night worlders for now but her supply of them were getting low. This new guy would be a perfect chance for the girl and a chance for Jess to end this tiring charade.

She just wanted the girl dead; it wasn't like anyone would have noticed anyway. Hunters were mainly orphans or humans who had been treated unkindly by their own kind when they were children. All they were was just scared, hurt children trying to lash out in anyway possible.

The only difference with them was that they lashed out at the most dangerous race on the planet, a time bomb linked with their own mortality. They knew what type of life they were getting themselves into and yet they were always shocked when someone came to give them their death penalty.

And Jessica had simply laughed at them as they had pleaded with her; they had expected her to be lenient with them because they were of the same race. They hadn't given the night worlders that same courtesy so she didn't see why she had to give it to them.

A dark figure entered from beside one of the warehouses and slunk back into the shadows. Jess recognised her target and joyfully leant against the wall as she waited for the climatic fight scene, she tried to hold back a yawn.

And the lamia just dutifully stood there as if he was waiting for a bus, didn't the guy have a life, come on? This was far too easy for the hunter.

The hunter had snuck behind him like a child mischievously coming up towards a blind beggar to steal his collection money and yet she still approached and the dark haired lamia stood there unaware.

Jess suddenly felt she was at a pantomime and had a terrible urge to shout out that she was behind him in a ridiculously shrill voice yet she obediently bit the urge down.

And when the hunter was just inches away the lamia swung round and grabbed her by the throat and all Jess did was lift her eyebrows in surprise, she hadn't expected him to be that good. Maybe it hadn't been a bus he had been waiting for but his next meal.

She watched the hunter squirm and lash out, but the guy had a vice like grip and the more she squirmed the tighter it got, Jessica fascinated watched as the hunter battled for breath. And when she was exhausted his grip lessoned, he had swung her head back and had gone for the jugular, literally.

Jessica had always seen Gunner feed and all the other of her fellow recruits, seen Ryan hunt so this didn't bother her. Her only main concern was if he was going to drain her dry or just wipe her memory and let her walk off. The problem with hunters though was that they were resilient to most forms of telepathy and of course Jess would still have to finish off the job if he didn't do it for her.

Within minutes the girl was dropped to the floor and Jessica walked out of the shadows. The lamia shuddered back in surprise when he eventually saw her. She hadn't realised how handsome he was, but they were all handsome and that was the dangerous lure.

Beauty always came with a cost with them. Ebony eyes beamed at her that were set back in pale creamy skin. He was like a dark prince; it was just the scars running down his neck and arms that ruined the image.

"So I can guess you're here to kill me too," his voice was smooth and if not annoyed would have been hypnotic.

Jessica shook her head, relaxed now in the knowledge that she shouldn't underestimate him, she looked down at the body and nudged it with her foot, "well actually I was here to kill that, but as you seemed to have done the job for me," she shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Wait!"

Jessica stopped and stared at him, knowing what he saw in her face. The same thing she saw every morning in the mirror, the thing she couldn't believe was her.

"As you seem to be apt at this. I guess you have a place for me to dump this body. Let's just say it's giving a helping hand to the new person in town."

She had only dug the hole that morning, all her hard work for nothing did seem a bit pathetic when there was nothing to put in it. "Ok, follow me. Pick that up," she pointed at the body, "I've got a grave that needs filling in the forest, it's a couple of minutes this way." She paused and looked at him intently, "you're filling it in though."

Without waiting for his answer she turned and led the way.

Mia turned her key in Gunner's door lock and opened the door smoothly. She had been trying to contact him for the last two hours and both his phones had just rung relentlessly. She had eventually resided to the fact she would have to wake the lazy moron herself and make up an excuse for being late for their briefing this morning.

The place was a mess as always, the blinds all drawn down. The only thing she hated about this place was the dank darkness; Gunner didn't have a likening towards the morning sun like herself and in the end they had made an uneasy compromise. She wouldn't complain about the darkness and the mess and he wouldn't comment on the bright sunshine and the silver decor.

She trailed towards his bedroom and opened the door, she knew she shouldn't have been shocked but something was drawn from her when she saw the girl asleep half naked cuddled up to Gunner. She coughed and Gunners eyes flickered open instantaneously and focused upon her and then silence seemed to blanket them. His eyes flickered from the girl beside him to Mia.

He had a guilty look on his face, Mia didn't know why. It wasn't like he had betrayed her, they were friends, Mia wasn't going to make the same mistake as Jessica. However much she loved Gunner, she wasn't going to twist the emotion into something deeper.

Jessica had done it because they had both needed each other and they had worked well, but only for a while.

She raised her eyebrows, "I'm been calling. We've been called in and we're running late. I'm going back to the car; you have ten minutes at the most to get ready."

And she trailed her way out and back down to the ground floor and back to her car. However much she separated herself from Gunner's love life, it still hurt when she saw him with other girls. The thing was that Gunner wasn't hers and never would be, they were friends, best friends and maybe that was the problem.

She had a bad feeling that she wouldn't be able deal if some girl took that away from her, she shook her head and tried to quell down the jealousy. That was the problem when she only had a few people you could rely on, a few people but really only but one.

Gunner had always been there for her and she had been the same for him, even when Ryan left and the Company had turned into chaos for a while, they were still alright because they had each other.

And yet she knew the time would come, she wasn't a witch for nothing and she could feel it in her bones, like the inevitable of her visions. And yet it was only a feeling, not anything etched into stone; the car door swung open and Gunner sat himself down.

He looked over to her in silence and a strained smile covered his face and she just shook her head, she didn't need this. "They rang me a couple of hours ago, just a small assignment."

And she started the car and drove to the compound in silence, nothing to say to each other; either that or they just didn't know how to say it.

They had found themselves walking to Ivy's office. A wedge set between them from actions that shouldn't have been able to hurt them.

Gunner stopped and pulled Mia back, "Mia?"

"Gunner we're running late!"

"Then it won't matter if we've a couple of minutes more, will it?" his eyes were too old and knowledgeable and right then regretful, "what you saw…"

"Has nothing to do with me, remember we already had this conversation a while back?"

"You're being unfair, it has everything to do with you, you're my best friend and for most of the time my only one. You have every right to know who I'm with and with not and I know it's all my fault right now that you're not talking to me."

"Yes, you're right it is your fault. This is the fourth time I've had to come round your place because you don't answer your damn phone, we have cell phones for a reason, you remember that right?"

He nodded his head, eyes darting everywhere but on her.

She pushed her way past him, "next time if you don't answer your phone I'm leaving with out you, understand?"

"Of course I do but Mia?"

"But Mia what?"

"We're a team, remember that? Don't be angry with me please?" and he gave her that look, that look that he knew would pierce through her armour and as always she fell for it.

Her face softened and a smile lightened it, "come on, we're running late."

People with souls were not meant to murder, she knew this and heard the argument many times. Yet none of this stopped her from doing what she did.

Tormented at times she might be, but a fool she was not. Giving up her trade meant a death sentence and no matter how much she had accepted death over the years and accepted it as inevitable, she didn't really want to attract the catalyst that would set it off.

She had left the stranger to fill in the hunter's grave on his own and had headed back home, had crept upstairs to the comfort and hiding place of her room. She would need to phone Ivy and explain the situation, tell them what had happened. All but where she had interacted with the lamia, that would be a punishable act if she let that out.

The Company didn't really like the thought of night worlders or really anyone influencing their assassins and even though she knew how unorthodox the Company was and how they would give up an assassins' life within a second thought. The loyalty she was brought up with was still there, a loyalty that overrode the cynicism and instinct that had told her to run, exactly as Ryan had done.

Her thoughts changed direction again as she handled the matter in hand. Matilda had caught up with her this morning and had recruited her for some garden work this afternoon; she had met Matilda in the kitchen where she had produced some clippers and some garden gloves.

"Some things need pruning," she had simple stated and obediently Jessica followed her out into the garden.

Even though Matilda was a witch and loved the earth and everything that grew on it she hadn't taken a fancy on learning all the plants names. So by Matilda's terms she had started out shaping the big bushy greenish thing and then moved on to cutting the dead parts off the purple spangled flower.

It was sweet to tell the truth. Matilda was a mother figure that she had never had. The training had all been about strength and survival, that and also deceit and many other manipulative lessons.

Matilda had started speaking, so Jessica looked up and keyed herself into the real world once again.

"I knew Kyle once."

Jessica had to blink several times before she realised who she was speaking about, "are you speaking about the Kyle I think you are?"

"Kyle Richards," Matilda nodded and a light entered her eyes, "he was several years older then me and it was a very fleeting affair. I was nightworld of course and he had seen too much of this world to keep to his own anymore."

"Why hadn't it worked?"

Matilda smiled, "his work, there was never any other excuse. It was that and I wanted Children and we had been together for a while then and I thought we were ready. But that was never going to happen; truthfully I think he was afraid."

Jess sat there in stunned silence, from a woman she thought who had easily swallowed the Company's lies she had been swung completely around to see the true light of it.

"I don't I've ever seen Kyle afraid," Jessica had admitted to her.

Matilda shook her head and sat back on the lush green grass, "you have to remember the death Kyle has seen and all of them children not strong enough to survive. Me giving birth to his baby meant that he would admit that he loved something and love to him was weakness."

Her eyes met Jessica's and in her heart Jess knew that Kyle had missed out on something when he left her, "but it happened for a reason I suppose, I guess Kyle is happy or he would have never made the decision."

Jessica nodded to her and tried to keep the background noise to a minimum as she heard Millie at the end of the garden talking to someone or from the sounds of it showing them around.

She caught Matilda's attention again, "so you know what I am?"

She nodded, "I'm no fool Jessica and if I didn't I would have guessed. You've made a good job rounding up those hunters."

Jessica had gotten three so far, well two excluding last nights one. Millie's voice got louder intruding on her thoughts.

"And this is the garden," she could hear her sing, "oh and of course this is Matilda my landlady and Jessica our newest housemate."

They both swung around, Jessica getting to her feet and giving Matilda a helping hand, it was only when Millie and her friend were a couple of feet away was when Jess realised her mistake.

The Lamia from the night before stood in front of her, shocked as herself. She could see it in his eyes and from the sudden amusement on his face she guessed he could see it in hers as well.

"This is my brother Trey," Millie exclaimed affectionately, "he's been away for a while, but he still comes in and visits me. He's planning on staying around for a bit."

"Really," Jessica looked across at Matilda who was already in the act of mothering the lamia. But now she looked at Millie and Trey together, she couldn't believe how she could have missed it the night before. The hair might have been a bit darker and instead of the sweet blue eyes he had compelling ebony ones, but the familiarity was there.

Etched in the curve of their nose and the mischievous looks in their eyes, they were siblings and there was no doubting it. She could almost feel the protectiveness that was welling out of him, she just shook her head and laughed and walked away.

However much she put the humans, her own kind in lower value then the night worlders she still was in earnest that the night worlders were as petty as anyone.

She sat down at the kitchen table and poured herself out some juice that had been put on the side in a jug with ice. They all made their way in a couple of minutes later, Matilda giving Jess one of her concerned looks while Millie chatted away oblivious.

She didn't need this, all she wanted to do was to be able to carry on with her life with normality and at least pretend that everything was going to turn all right this time. Trey was just another person to put a spanner in the works; she could see it in his eyes.

So she waited patiently, it took two hours until they got a moment to themselves. Jess had wandered out into the garden and started pruning the spangle plant thing again and as a daunting shadow Trey was standing behind her, she smiled and tried not to look like she was expecting this.

"If you touch my sister…"

Jessica just sneered, "Why in hell would you think I would want to? Trey, that's your name right?" he nodded at her, his eyes trying to bore holes in her, but unfortunately for him weren't even searing the surface. "Well Trey, I don't kill people unless assigned to first, but me with my temper," she gave him a deadpan look, "why don't you go and get your self a life?"

Trey just laughed back, "you know what, you don't look like a killer. But looks can be deceiving I know that even if some don't." His eyes blazed for a moment, "my sister is very valuable to me, if you hurt her I will come hunt you down."

Jess glared back, "what in hell makes you think you'd have a chance?"

His arms swung out as if to unbalance her, Jess easily slipped out of the way and stepped out in front of him. Too close for him to swing out at her and close enough for her to block any other attack.

Silence cloaked them for a moment, dead eyes warring.

Millie's voice calling out to him made him step back and wander back into the house, Jess just shook her head and turned back around and turned her attention back to the plants.

Trey was a fool, Jessica had no intention of harming Millie or anyone around her, but Trey was running away from something.

And even at that moment as she realised the fact she let the thought simmer inside of herself. He was running, she could tell that now by the look in his eyes and the words Millie had used.

The only problem with that was, now that he had stopped when would the pursuers turn up?