Chapter eight.
Authors note: Alright everybody, I have something to say to everybody who is impatient with my update speed… which I realize is like all of you. In actuality this is for those who left reviews about me needing to hurry up with my updates. YES I REALIZE IT'S BEENLIKE A MILLION YEARS SINCE IVE POSTED ANYTHING BUT LIFE HAS BEEN BLOODY INSANE LATELY. I GOT A JOB OFFER SO I QUIT MY JOB AT SUBWAY AND NOW MY HOURS ARE EVEN MORE HECTIC THAN THEY WERE BEFORE. TO TOP OFF THE INSANE WORK HOURS I ROLLED MY CAR AND HONESTLY NOBODY KNOWS HOW I EVEN SURVIVED, SO EXCUSE ME FOR HAVING OTHER THINGS TO DEAL WITH BESIDES WRITING FANFICTION FOR ALL YOUR UNGRATEFUL ASSES! That was really just for the people being overly impatient with me. and i dont necessarily mean this story. Now. On with the chapter. I do wish to thank everyone else who left kind encouraging reviews.
-Its only about three pages this time…
-Disclaimer: if I owned either of these, I would be rich and could buy a new car…
/
When he emerged from the hallway into the kitchen he was unsurprised to find Markus and Dimitri standing by the door waiting. With a sigh he went to the oven and pulled out the ham that he had been baking. It was perfect.
"So you finally decided to emerge from your hole little brother?" Skylar asked him in an overly sweet voice. Harry who was in a bit of a bad mood already didn't even look at her when he flipped her off.
"Ouch. That hurts." She said sarcastically.
"Good. Now shut up and leave me alone." He told her in a half amused, half annoyed voice. He studiously ignored the growling that came from Dimitri. "If we are going then let's get to it."
"Oh, poor little Harry, in a bad mood because he didn't get his way." The girl continued to prod, much to their parents' amusement.
"Sky, if you want to go to the party with neon purple hair then, by all means, please continue." He told her softly as he walked out the door and into the cold winter night. He wanted to just get to the party and have it be over and done with.
The others in the group followed him out the door and they all silently started down the path after the irritable boy-who-lived.
/
Harry found that as they went on, it was easier for him to get his emotions back under control. He knew that he shouldn't take anything out on his family, especially since it wasn't their fault. He sighed heavily and let his tense shoulders relax. The cold winter air was helping him think.
So much had gone on tonight, and it wasn't even half over yet… yeesh.
This family thing was exhausting. He loved it, make no mistake, but it was completely foreign to him. He had to take time every day he was with them to put his head on straight, and not take out his stress on everybody else in the world. Before, it hadn't mattered what kind of mood he was in. nobody had really cared anyway. But here they did.
/
Markus watched the young male, who he was now certain was his Lifemate, with interest. The teen was an anomaly. The ancient had seen him act confident and them turn around ten minutes later and be completely timid and shy. It was almost like the other had two different personalities. The one for the world and the one for in private.
He wondered what could have made such a thing necessary. Nothing that he could think of himself made any sense.
/
As he took the time to breath and get himself under control, Harry noticed that something in the air was…off. Like it had been in the clearing earlier. As soon as he realized that he froze and flared all of his senses.
"Harry? What is it?" Gabriel asked softly, not wanting to ruin his concentration.
"The Mage is attacking. I need too…" he trailed off as he cl0osed his eyes and furrowed his brow. Their group was completely silent. They hardly dared breathe, for fear of distracting him. "Done. I made it mad though. I doubt that we will make it through the night without an attack by his puppet."
"Who was it targeting?"
"Do you actually expect me to know who anybody is? Several groups of Carpathians." He said in exasperation.
"Alright fine. Be logical like that." Skylar sniped, seeing that her brother was in a better mood and was unlikely to hex her.
"I will, thank you." He looked around at her briefly.
"Lets get a move on everybody." Gabriel interjected, before an argument could start.
"Okay."
/
He had to admit that the party wasn't as bad as he feared it would be. Everybody he was introduced to made sure to not get too close to him and not pry into his business. That in and of itself was rather refreshing. He had to admit. Seeing Gabriels brother dressed up as Santa clause was rather hilarious too… especially the way he subtly glared daggers at the prince. He had watched Skylar get up on stage and sing a rather beautiful song that he didn't know. And somehow, he wasn't sure how, Markus had convinced him to dance.
The dance had been an experience, considering that Harry had never actually learned how, but he found that he did rather well with the older male leading.
"Harry…" The man started, "I need to talk to you in private later. It doesn't have to be tonight, but before you return to France would be nice."
"I think I know why, but I don't know… if I can talk to you in private." He held up a hand to forestall an interjection. "Not because of my parents, Markus, Because of the way I am. When I went to live with them, I couldn't be alone with either Skylar or the housekeepers for over a week." He told the man softly, embarrassed by the admission.
"Then I will talk to you and Gabriel together. Is that alright?"
That the man was willing to do such a thing for him was such a weird experience for Harry. All his life, he had been told what was going to happen and when. Now enter a man he had only known for a few hours, making concessions for Harrys happiness and peace of mind.
"Thank you Markus. That would be great." He gave the hunter a brilliant smile.
/
The night slowly wound down to a close, and all of the families of Carpathians began to trickle towards to exit, so they could go to ground after a long and eventful night. As Harry approached the door he saw one of the women, Shea, talking to an older woman who was walking heavily on a cane. Immediately his senses were on alert and he threw an indestructible ward around the elder woman who he sensed was Mage possessed.
Apparently he was just in time, as the woman thrust the tip of the cane up at Shea's very pregnant belly. They all saw that there was a needle gleaming at the end, and Harry was grateful for the ward he had chosen also worked on objects. Nothing was getting in or out until he had dealt with that Mage.
He made his way to where the woman was trying to furiously break out of the bubble, and not having any luck at all.
"Hmm." He muttered as he got closer. The mage was close to the surface, his eyes glaring hatefully at everyone surrounding him.
"What is going on?" Shea asked in a panic, arms wrapped protectively around her belly. "Why did she try and attack me. And why didn't it work?"
"Harry, maybe you should explain it to everyone." Gabriel suggested calmly.
"Yes." He turned to look at Shea and her Lifemate. "She isn't herself, as you can see. She has been possessed by a very powerful Mage." Several people drew in a sharp breath. "I have her contained for now, so that I can track the Mage back to his body… Unfortunately if I were to destroy the mage right now, it would kill her. Not something we want to have happen, I'm thinking." He spoke loud enough for them all to hear him, but soft enough that it didn't carry to the guests of the inn.
"How were you able to contain her?" one of the unattached males asked, almost coming across as accusatory.
"It s one of the strongest containment wards I know. It keeps anyone or thing excluding me from going in or out. I'm thinking I choose the right one. That needle looks vicious." He made the observation calmly, and without inflection. "I am certain that it has some type of poison on it that should be studied. They might use something similar in the future, and it would be useful to know what it does, so that everyone knows how to counter it." The last was directed at Mikhail and Gregory, as they were at the top or the foodchain, so to speak. They nodded in agreement.
"Shouldn't we not talk of important things like this in front of a Mage possessed? Isn't he able to hear through her ears?" Somebody asked
"She can't hear us. She is hearing something else entirely. It is all part of that lovely ward around her. It is funneling a fake conversation through." He stepped up to the edge of his bubble and looked at her calmly. He closed his eyes in concentration again and followed the trace of mage from the woman, back to the Mage, hidden far away from civilization, in a deep, dark cave. "Got him." He then proceeded to mentally shove at the Mage, dislodging him from the body of the woman, and kept pushing until he was sure he couldn't get back in. The old woman collapsed to the ground, immediately.
Harry dropped the ward and staggered as he put a hand to his head. He had a killer headache now from using too much magic in such a short space of time.
He smiled gratefully as Gabriel picked him up and Skylar gave him a large piece of chocolate. She always made sure to keep some on her for emergencies… thankfully.
"All done." He announced to the stunned audience around him, before cuddling into his fathers' arms and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
/
END OF CHAPTER!
-yes I know its short, and that it probably sucks. I think that at this point, this story only has one or two chapters and the epilogue left.
Like I said, I have had a lot of shit going on and honestly I am in pretty bad pain right now from sitting here typing. Take my word for it, please, ROLLING YOUR CAR SUCKS AND WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE SUCK TOO! DON'T DO IT! MAKE SURE YOU SLEEP LOTS BEFORE DRIVING ANYWHERE!
-anywho, I know that its short, but it gets us through the party, and I can get into Markus and Harrys relationship now. I thought of cutting it before the attack, because I haven't read Dark Celebration for a while. But I decided that I could get away with changing it… so I did.
-I am not editing this before posting. I figure you've all waited enough. I will go through and edit tomorrow. Let me know if you see anything glaringly obvious please. I'll try to get the next one out soon, but make no promises.