Things are going to be a bit touch and go for this weekend, so I'm just going to put this chapter up. This chapter is with Lilly, next chapter is with Seth, and then chapter three will be with Lilly again. For the last part of my trilogy, I'm really trying to keep it centralized. There will only be four or five Narrators with Lilly and Seth being the main two followed by Nigel.
The song I have put into this chapter is "Ours" by The Bravery. I highly recommend the Eclipse soundtrack. I'm going to finish the next chapter in the next few days. As long as I get reviews, I should have it up by the start of next week.
If you're new to my stories, and have gotten this far, thank you. I would also like to thank Stina Whatever and PurpleReader29 for reviewing the prologue, this chapter is for you two!
Please review!
Enjoy!
In Between
Chapter One
Lilly Davenport
I woke in Seth's arms.
I was warm. His breaths were deep and steady. Absolute peace.
I stared at his face, the tan skin and his ruggedly handsome features. That's when I realized just how profound an affect he had on me. Just his presence made the whole world seem like it's just between the two of us and that nothing else matters.
"After tonight,
who knows where we'll be tomorrow
what if we're never here again?
After tonight
This will be a lifetime ago
so let's stay up until the sky bleeds red."
Then my brother seeped back in my mind. The truth was something I was having a hard time to swallow.
"Lilly." A voice hissed from somewhere in the house. "I know you're awake."
It was Holly. She was freaky that way, hearing by the sound of my breathing that I was awake. She used to show up in my room in the mornings when she needed to talk to me at the exact moment I woke.
"And we'll stop stop stop the world from moving
Stop stop stop the clocks from turning
Stop this night from fading away."
I carefully extracted myself from Seth's arms. He moaned and tightened his arms around where I had just been laying. I waited for a minute, making sure he was deep asleep again, before moving. I stood, observing the bodies strewn around me, each heaving heavy sighs of restful sleep. I knew that under normal circumstances, most of them would have been awakened but my…cousin's…magic was keeping them asleep.
Naturally, I nearly tripped over Leah on my way to the kitchen. We had a tense peace. The last thing I needed was to trip over her and wake her up.
I found Holly sitting in a study, behind a desk, her black boots propped on the cherry wood surface. "What?" I whispered.
She leaned her head back, tossing a phone onto the desk, "Oliver's gone. Carlisle called, and told me that he just disappeared."
"This time is ours
If I could hold this moment in my hands
I'd stop the world from moving
I'd stop the clocks from turning"
"What?" I asked again.
"That's what I want to know. What are we going to do?"
"About what?" I said, avoiding her emerald eyes.
She stood, moving in a flash to put her hand on my shoulder, "They'll kill him." Her voice is calm, even.
"Who?" I asked, my voice and confidence wavering.
"Don't play coy with me, sister. You've known for as long as I have" I didn't like the tone of her voice, it was vampiric, glossy and polished.
"This time is ours
inside a frozen memory of us
And we are motionless, motionless."
"What?" I whispered.
She circled me, a smile on her face, "Alright, so you want to play that game." I could feel her breath on my ear and I held my hold body rigid. "You know, who's been killing our family."
"No!" I half yelled.
She walked to face me, "Lilly, deep down, you know who it is. We both do."
"No." I said again, more firmly.
"Lilly, he killed Ivy. What kind of monster kills a little girl? She was twelve, Lilly. Twelve years old, and her life is over. And what about Grams? She wasn't a threat to anyone, she barely even got out of bed most days. We both know that she was just a warm up and that Ivy was the first test. Who knows how many others have been killed by his hands."
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, my voice quiet.
She sighed, "Because, the sooner you get to the truth, the sooner we can come up with a plan."
"A plan for what?"
Holly smirked, "The truth first, Lilly."
I thought of Seth, sleeping in the other room, completely unaware of what I was going through. Holly was forcing the truth onto me, and all I wanted to do was to go and get back into Seth's arms. I had been sleeping so well, dreaming something, but the memory was quickly fading, leaving me with only a feeling of contentment that my sister had shattered.
"Gone like a dream that I have just awoken from
Fading away, just out of reach
And we are here, but I already miss you
even as you're lying next to me."
I swallowed back my fear and pride, saying the words I hope aren't true, "He's a murderer." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I feel better. Holly nods her head slightly in ascension. My heart feels like it's breaking. It's a sick sort of feeling that builds in my chest until I can hardly breath. "My…brother…is…a…m-murderer? No, he wouldn't. He's…so quiet and, no, no!" I half scream again.
Holly hugged me to her chest, "Shh…keep your voice down, we wouldn't want to wake your mate, would we?" She ran a thin hand through my hair as I nodded, "Good, now, what are we going to do?"
"With what? People are dead at his hands. What can I do?"
"Spare his life. Lilly, these vampires here, they will not have mercy on those who harm innocents. They will kill him. If you take them to Avalon and give them a shot at him, he will die."
"And we'll stop stop stop the world from moving
Stop stop stop the clocks from turning
Stop this night from fading away."
"He's my twin, I can't let that happen!"
"I know, that's why I think you need to go before everyone else."
"What? Why?"
She put a hand on my shoulder again, "Because, you are the only person who can talk him down. If he surrenders, they won't kill him, but they won't give him a chance. He must surrender before anyone gets to Avalon."
"What makes you think he isn't too far gone? Why am I the one who has to save him?" I asked bitterly.
"Lilly! You are his twin, he would never hurt you." Her eyes are trying to convey something, but I can't tell what it is.
I hang my head, "I'm not sure who he is anymore."
"Lilly, he's your brother. You can't give up hope. If you give up, than there is no hope." She had an expression of pity on her face, "There is a reason why most Animators are killed soon after their gifts are discovered. They go mad Lilly. In little ways at first, some are fine until well into adulthood, but sooner or later, they all go crazy. The power corrupts."
"This time is ours
If I could hold this moment in my hands
I'd stop the world from moving
I'd stop the clocks from turning."
"Than what's the use? If his power is making him insane, what good will it do me to talk him down?" I didn't see her point.
She sighed, annoyance sprinkling across her features before she controlled herself, "You need Nigel. He's a Leech, he can take Oliver's power."
"Okay, so he takes the power from Oliver, won't it just make him go crazy?" I asked, how she knew all of this, I still couldn't figure out. The twitch of her face let me know that she hadn't figured that part of her plan out. "You don't know." I stated, "Do you? You have no idea about how to keep Nigel from going crazy too."
She cringed, "I'm not sure, true, but I'm hoping that Nigel taking it in will buy us enough time to figure out how to get rid of it without killing someone."
I straightened up, "So what I need to do is find Nigel and then Oliver."
She nodded tentatively, "Yes…only, I'm not sure how long I can keep them from coming after you."
I snorted softly, something I'd never done without being whacked on the head before, "Just how are you going to distract them in the first place. Seth will notice that I'm gone."
A slow smile spread on her face, "Lilly, you forget, I'm an illusionist. They don't have to know you're missing at all. I'll try to keep them in the dark as long as I can, but you need to work fast."
"This time is ours
inside a frozen memory of us
And we are motionless, motionless
And we are motionless, motionless
And we are motionless, motionless"
"I can. When do I leave?"
"Later, we'll fight like we usually do, and during, you'll go behind a tree and my illusion will come back, leaving you free to run the opposite direction. Until then, you should probably get back to sleep."
"How could I possibly go back to sleep?"
She grinned at me, "I'm sure you'll find a way."
I rolled my eyes, preparing to leave the dark office. At the door, I stopped, "How will I find Nigel?"
Holly shrugged, "I'm not sure, but you need him. Try the maids, they know everything."
I gave my adopted sister a wry smile, "So I've heard. Thank you, Holly."
"No problem, sister mine, Godspeed." I started but she spoke again, "Oh, and just to let you know…I won't be pulling any punches later."
I gasped in faux indignation, "How cruel."
"And we'll stop stop stop the world from moving
Stop stop stop the clocks from turning
Stop this night from fading away, fading away"
"Go, Lilly. I need to spend all the time I can with my son." I looked back at her, and was shocked to see how old she looked. She didn't just look older, she looked tired, so unbelievably tired.
I left anyway, hearing voices down the hall. A light was on in one of the bedrooms. It looked large, "Baby, you need to be strong for momma. I know you'll be scared, but I need you to go. We will be okay." It was my mother. This must be her room.
"No, momma, I don't want to go!" My new half brother Billy said, in a young boy's effeminate voice. "I want to stay with you!"
I stood in the doorframe, looking at the scene in front of me. Elaine was on her knees in front of the boy, holding a thin metal circlet in one hand. A collar, I realized in horror. The boy recoiled from it, "Please, Billy, you need to wear it, your father will be here in the morning, and I don't know how long you'll need to be gone. It won't just be for a night, Billy. I can't just tell you not to use your power, because you may have to spend the rest of your minor years with your father."
"No! I want to stay with you! I won't go."
"This time is ours
If I could hold this moment in my hands
I'd stop the world from moving
I'd stop the clocks from turning"
A tear ran down her face, "Please, baby. Do this, for me? I need you to be safe."
I watched at the little boy's posture changed. He was a momma's boy, "Okay, I'll wear it, but not until daddy gets here in the morning. It's itchy." He agreed.
She smiled, wiping her face, "Deal, but you should go to bed." He nodded, and started towards the door, I jerked away from the doorway and stood to the side of it.
He squeaked a little in surprise when he saw me, "Lilly!" He said softly.
I giggled, "Hey, sorry to scare you. What was our mother trying to put on you?"
He held up the metal collar with a passive expression, "It's a collar that binds my power. Mom doesn't want my daddy to know exactly what I can do." His face fell, "I don't want to have to wear it forever." Hope filled his face, "Are you going with mom?"
"No, I'm leaving sooner."
"Why."
"Because I can't put my mate in danger. Our brother's gone crazy because of his power, and I need to make him surrender." I gave the little boy the condensed version.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Take me with you." He said, looking at me closely with his blue eyes.
"No, Billy, I can't do that." I said automatically.
"Why not? I can help you." He said, and I smiled a little at the knowledge that we shared our stubbornness.
"You're a little boy, Billy. I can't let you get hurt." I said tenderly.
"This time is ours
inside a frozen memory of us
And we are motionless, motionless"
He shook his head and jutted his chin out in defiance, "I can help you. I'm an alchemist. I transmute things." To prove his point, he put a hand to the floor, and when he brought it back to my sight, he held a short-stemmed rose. He handed it to me, "I can do that with other things too. My body regenarwates." He giggled and I cringed at his malformed words, "That helps when I twip on stuff. I bwuse a lot though."
"I'll take care of him. You have to take me too." I flinched. Gerry had caught me.
"This isn't a field trip, Ger. People could get hurt." I couldn't look at her.
"Lilly." She said with a reprimanding tone. "I'm a Healer. The safest place is to be with me. Besides, I can help you find Oliver. We share blood, even as cousins, I can find him, my brother too. It will save you time. We will be waiting in the forest for you. End of discussion."
I felt her walk away. Billy looked at me with wide eyes, "She's scary… Am I related to her?"
I smiled, pulling the little boy into my arms, resting my tired head on his shoulder. "Yes, that's our Geranium."
I sent the boy to bed, kissing him on the forehead. I had no intentions of letting them follow me in the morning. They were both far too young.
I slipped back into Seth's arms, and he stirred, opening his dark eyes. "You okay?" Was what I assumed his sleepy mumble meant.
I nodded, kissing him hard before telling him softly, "Yeah, I just went to the bathroom. Sorry I woke you."
He kissed me softly, "It's not a problem. I love you."
"I love you too, Seth."
I curled back into the strength and comfort of his arms, drifting back to blissful sleep in minutes.
"This time is ours
This time is ours
This time is ours
This time is ours
This time is ours"
After this chapter, I'm starting to think I should write a song fic...meh, maybe after this is all done with. :)
What do you think?
-Jenn