Yes, I am still alive. (Not for my enemies lack of trying, however!)
Forgive the wait. But new chapter's good, ne?
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Yes. Of course I own Darkest Powers. Duh. Also, gullible is written on the very bottom of this page.
Rapture
Moths to a Flame
Chloe raised her eyebrows and looked at the strangers, debating whether she should freak out or wait for Derek to freak out before she freaked out.
She could honestly say that she had never seen these two before. Ever. Not even randomly passing on the street or in the Supermarket or something.
The man was tall and was built similarly to Derek aside from the fact that he didn't seem to be made of as much muscle as her fiancé. His hair was also on the shaggy side but it was a dirty blond and clearly had little care and attention paid to it aside from the short and messy ponytail that it was tied back in with a white bandana wrapped around his head.
His bangs were naturally sliding over to the right side of his face like he had constantly flicked his head that way and they eventually started to grow like that. His grey-blue eyes glowed with frustration and kept flashing over worriedly towards the woman he had with him.
She was pretty much the polar opposite of him. Her hair was a rich, dark, brown color with an almost red tint to it and braided in one long twist down her back. She was taller than Chloe, around Tori's height, and her skin was probably normally a rich tan. At the moment, however, she was just pale tan.
Her lips were cracked like they were in serious need of chapstick and they were silently moving. Her hazel eyes were flicking around randomly and her pupils were expanding and shrinking so fast it almost made Chloe sick to her stomach just looking at them.
"…Better have a good reason for this. Something as vague as that doesn't warrant a trespass of our agreement and I really don't want to fight you right now." Derek said, standing halfway in front of her, unconsciously going for a protective movement. Chloe, herself not at all sure what was going to happen, backed up a few steps until she was standing next to Simon and Tori.
"Listen," A.J. snapped, "Sage saw—is seeing something that doesn't just involve you now! When you asked for my help, you drug both of us into this." He looked at her again as her eyes rolled back in her head and she shuddered and gasped. "She's trying to get as much information as she can before she becomes too involved."
Chloe wondered what he meant by that and was about to inquire but stopped at the look on Derek's face. Chloe knew that something bad could happen. When Derek opened his mouth to snap something at him Chloe rushed forward and snagged his arm, dragging him down to her level and whispering in his ear.
"He's trying to help us. Calm down and you can settle whatever issue that you're having later, after we have everything dealt with and we have all the facts. All right?" She loosened her grip and gently rubbed her thumb over his bicep. Derek stood up straight again and looked embarrassed with himself.
"Sorry." He mumbled to her. Chloe smiled warmly at him and, after one last pat, moved back where she knew she would be out of his way. Derek nodded at A.J. who set his lips in a straight, tense line and nodded back.
"I'm not breaking any part of our agreement by being here. I'm acting outside the Pack." A.J. assured Derek quietly. Derek nodded in a preoccupied way. A.J. shifted around uncomfortably. "Look, could I get her to some place where she can lie down? I don't want her to—"
Sage suddenly dropped like a ton of bricks. A.J.'s eyes got huge and he quickly stooped to get a better grip on her. She began to shake violently and her eyes shot open, the pupils constricting and expanding faster than before as they quivered in no set pattern.
"They come…following her radiance…like moths to a flame…little do they know…but what they know isn't little. Their guide's the forsaken heaven-walker. He is lost and doesn't care. The moths—" She closed her eyes and swallowed heavily before continuing again, "They dance deadly with beasts on the Indian Pipe…they're close…to the hive…and they want to shift in skin." She made an odd yelping noise and sat up quickly, almost knocking A.J. in the chin with her forehead.
"Holy shit." A.J. mumbled, jerking back quickly and placing a hand on her head to restrain her. "Calm down. You were prophesying again." Sage nodded her understanding and sat there; slouched over and shivering while she gulped up the air desperately.
"A.J.—" She said, sitting back up suddenly and grabbing onto his shirt. "They know where we all are. They're going to come here and kill us all." She tried to struggle to her feet and nearly fell over. A.J. caught her as Chloe began to yell a warning.
Sage immediately turned her eyes onto Chloe. "You," She began looking Chloe in the eye in a way that made her feel like she wasn't just being looked at. "Have a spectacular aura. Brightest one I've seen in a long while. Necromancer?" She asked conversationally like she hadn't just exclaimed that they were all going to die.
Chloe, unsure of what to do, looked and Derek, who cocked an eyebrow at her and seemed just as confused, and she then turned to A.J. and looked at him helplessly. He smirked and shrugged.
"Humor her." He mouthed. Chloe looked back at Sage and nodded, crossing her arms to hide her goose-bumps and smiling tightly.
"Yes, I am." She answered politely. Sage nodded.
"I'm Sage. It's nice to meet you…?" She trailed off waiting for Chloe to fill in the blank.
"Chloe." She supplied. Sage nodded and stuck her hand out. Derek stiffened and Chloe brushed his arm as she leaned forward to shake Sage's hand firmly. "The pleasure's mine. I hear that you're helping us with our newfound dilemma." She stated. Sage winced.
"Not anymore. I got what I could but I'm too involved now." She said, sighing in frustration. Chloe scrunched her eyebrows up and cocked her head to the side. Sage smiled at her expression. "I can't see my future. Now that I've gotten too mixed up with your future, I can't see it anymore."
"Oh." Chloe stated, processing it. "That's—"
"Annoying as hell? Why, yes. Yes it is." Sage said and laughed. Chloe smiled shakily.
"Sage." A.J. said firmly as he rose from his seated position and stood behind her. "Please tell us what's going on. We can do introductions later." Sage nodded and closed her eyes.
"Okay, we've got a good ten people all dressed in inconspicuous clothing, but with sunglasses on so that I can't really see their faces. They're all waiting for a signal to move forward." She opened her eyes and smiled wryly. Her pallor was already healthier looking. "If we leave now, then when they get the signal they're going to ambush an empty home."
"Where can we go? And who the hell will pay for the damage?" Tori demanded from behind Chloe, obviously unhappy. Sage turned her attention back to Tori and Simon.
"Hello." She said to them happily. "I'm Sage. It's nice to meet—"
"Sage." A.J. said, again. She blinked and looked back at him sheepishly.
"Right, well, I saw a woman. She had darker skin and had a fancy Zippo lighter that was absolutely beautiful by the way, I would say that it was made especially for her, and I would totally buy that from her because it was simply gorgeous—"
"Sage."
"Sorry, sorry." She said, patting an irate A.J.'s chest. "Anyway, she kept flicking it opened and closed, but, when she lit her cigarette, she just snapped her fingers and a flame came up. There was something scripted on the lighter, presumably her name, but I couldn't get that good of a look at it. It started with an 'R' though." She looked between all of the present Supernaturals. "Does any of this ring bells?"
Chloe concentrated and then felt her body go slack.
No… It... wouldn't be. Right?
Chloe turned to Tori and Simon.
"Rae?" She asked in a questioning voice. Tori looked disgusted but nodded in time with Simon. Derek grunted. She turned back to Sage. "But she lives all the way in California. That's the other side of the U.S." Sage blinked.
"Oh. Well. Even better!" She smiled widely and clapped her hands before turning to A.J. who was standing between her and the door. "We better start going then." She said, dropping a hint. A.J. looked at her. "A.J., that means you have to move your werewolf ass."
Behind Chloe, Simon inhaled sharply and Tori scoffed; "So that's why…" A.J. rolled his eyes and looked at Derek over Sage's head.
"Is that okay with you?" He asked, semi-sarcastically, staring right at Derek with his head tilted up marginally. Derek made a grunt/huff noise and ran his hand through his hair.
"I suppose you should come." He rumbled. "But you're riding in your own car." He added with a snap, pushing his way past his fellow werewolf and into the hallway, beckoning for the others to follow. Chloe began to follow immediately glancing at A.J. quickly as she passed. He winked at her.
Chloe blushed and walked faster, trying to catch up with Derek's long strides. Derek glanced over his shoulder and slowed down when he saw her struggling to walk with him.
"So that's A.J., huh?" Chloe said after Derek didn't make any move to comment on the events. Simon and Tori caught up with them and began to walk with them, obviously intent on the conversation, too.
"That's A.J." Derek responded unhelpfully. Chloe sighed at him and gave him a look. Derek cocked an eyebrow and looked right back at her.
"He's nothing like I thought he would be." Chloe commented. Derek scoffed.
"He's just putting on a good face for Sage. Normally the man is the biggest chain-smoking, alcohol drinking, threesome having, pain in the ass you will ever meet." Derek was quiet for a few moments. "Of course, half of that is because of the fact he's trying to get his mind off the fact that he can't be with Sage, so I suppose when he's with her he doesn't have to be like that." He shrugged. "Whatever. He's annoying and it irks me that he's…" He trailed off and looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry. Wolf thing."
Chloe smiled at him in what she hoped looked understanding, patting his arm again. They walked on briskly, and Tori pulled out her keychain, pushing a button on her car starter and holding it till it beeped.
"Okay, so I'm with Simon in our car, and I'm guessing that wolf-boy wants you with him?" She said absent mindedly to Chloe and Derek. Derek nodded; his lips tight. "I figured. And your werewolf pal has his own car, I hope."
"I'm not his pal." A.J. said, popping up next to her and tugging an annoyed and loudly protesting Sage along. "And yes, I do have my own car."
Tori inched away from him distrustfully—though rightfully so—and gave him a snide look.
"Then where is it?" She snapped. He looked around and squinted into the sun.
"It was right…" He looked over one spot then did a double take and pointed. "I knew it. There it is!" They followed his finger and saw that he was pointing right at a… well a motorcycle. Derek made a disbelieved noise in his throat.
"You brought Sage over here on that when she was in the middle of a vision? She could have had a fit and then fallen right off." He sounded like he was scolding him and A.J. tensed, the dangerous light coming back to his eyes. He turned to Derek and lowered his tone till it almost sounded like Derek's growl.
"Do you doubt my ability to care for my own?" He snarled, obviously offended. Derek cocked an eyebrow and centered him weight like he was preparing for an attack...
"Oh, my, God!" Sage exclaimed in frustration. A.J. jumped and looked over at her. She scowled at him and smacked his arm. "Will you two give it a rest? I can hardly breathe without choking on all this freaking testosterone." She proclaimed resolutely and began to lug A.J. over towards the bike. "Let's go for goodness sake; what part of 'mortal danger' don't you two manly men understand?"
Derek shook himself and sighed.
"She's right. We need to go. Sorry guys." He said apologetically and began to head for their car. Chloe waved goodbye to Tori and Simon before rushing off after him. She caught up with him as he was swinging himself into the car.
She hauled her butt into the car and buckled up. Derek fiddled around with the radio as an excuse to avoid looking at her. She sighed and flicked his arm. He jumped and looked at her.
"Don't look so guilty." She told him, smiling crookedly. "I don't mean to be clichéd but you look like a puppy that just piddled on the carpet." He blinked at her, confused.
"I… feel like a puppy that just piddled on the carpet…?" He said slowly, smiling at the words as they came from his mouth. Chloe laughed.
"You didn't do anything, so you have no reason too." She scratched at an itch on her hand. "And thank God I don't have to get the newspaper." She said in mock seriousness. Derek let out a rumbling chuckle and put the car into drive, rolling out of the parking lot.
"I have this…nagging feeling that..." He sighed and shrugged, shaking his head again in frustration. "I just feel like the Pack is involved somehow." He mumbled. Chloe looked at him sharply.
"You think A.J.'s a spy?" She questioned, listening to the telltale roar of the motorcycle's showy motor. Derek shook his head.
"No. I think that it just worked in their favor that he happened to stick his nose where he shouldn't have." Derek shrugged at her confused look. "He's been getting on Alpha's nerves lately with all of this Sage business. I think that he's even tried to have Sage killed before, but he didn't come right out and say it." Derek scowled. "He's a ruthless man—monster and he doesn't care who's in his way if he can kill them to achieve power."
"So, he's not satisfied with being just Alpha of the werewolf pack?" Chloe asked, trying to imagine what he must look like. The generic bad-guy look came into mind but it had a little bit of 'Butch' tossed in. Sort of like a pissed off logger.
"Of course he isn't. He's one of those werewolves that think just because he can turn into a wolf he is king of the fucking world." Derek sounded highly agitated about this subject and Chloe knew that she had hit a sore spot.
"It's all about power and domination to him. I stay well out of his way because I don't want him to try to recruit me for anything because if you turn him down, then he kills your family. Better to live in sorrow than to have died in vain is his philosophy." He grumbled, turning a corner a little sharply.
"Um, Derek?" Chloe asked cautiously. He ignored her and went on growling.
"After all, even when you're still covered in the blood of their loved ones, they still might change their minds and join you." He mumbled sarcastically.
"Derek?" Chloe tried again, raising her hand a little bit. He looked way beyond pissed now.
"The over cocky son-of-a—"
"Derek, please!" She gasped, afraid to touch him for fear of what he might do. He jerked and sat up straight.
"Sorry." He mumbled; a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. Chloe smiled and laughed nervously.
"It's okay; you just had me a little worried there." He looked horrified when she said that and she hurriedly made amends. "I meant that you looked like you were going to rip the steering wheel from its post." He frowned and looked forward. They drove on in silence until Chloe's phone rang and nearly startled them right into a building.
"H-Hello?" She gasped into it.
"Yeah, Hi, it's Tori." And impatient snap sounded from the speaker. Chloe rolled her eyes.
"I know. What's wrong?" She prompted.
"Do any of us actually know how to get to Rae's?"
Bwahaha!!
Road trip? Indeed.
Review please!
Gullible. (told you so)
