Disclaimer: LJ Smith owns Night World, not me.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's my latest update. I know I've been updating really slowly lately but school's been taking over just a little lately, plus I really wanna tie this story together properly. Hopefully you guys will like this chapter, please review :)
Chapter 10 – An Intrusion
Mica jumped up out of the chair. Turning around, she saw Drake Blackthorn standing at the doorway. For a split second, Mica's vision blurred and a halo of golden light from the fireplace surrounded her soulmate.
Blinking the haze away, Mica frowned when she caught sight of a tiny splatter of blood on Drake's dark shirt. On closer inspection, she saw a speck of dried blood caked to the corner of his mouth. What was more disturbing than the sight of the blood was the smell of copper. Her nostrils had once been filled with the scent of fire wood and musty books. But now she could smell blood. Human blood.
"You've just been out feeding." She stated coldly.
A guilty expression crossed Drake's eyes. "Yeah."
For a long beat neither said a word. Mica finally took in a deep breath and prayed to the gods that Drake wouldn't reject what she was about to disclose to him. Stepping closer to him, she gazed into his gem green eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked, a worried expression replacing his guilty one.
Mica swallowed and lowered her eyes to the floor. "Something happened."
"Did Maya hurt you?" Drake asked, his voice brimming with a protective aggression.
"That's not what I'm talking about." Mica shut her eyes. "Apparently, I'm part of some prophecy. It says that I have to battle Maya."
"Battle Maya?" Drake exclaimed. "Why would a human have to face the strongest lamia of all time?"
"Drake, I'm not human." Mica swallowed, her heart thundering. She expected him to yell again, but he didn't say another word. He lifted her chin up, staring into her dark eyes expectantly. "I'm a hybrid. I only found out yesterday. That's what I was trying to tell you at the café."
Drake's eyes filled with concern as his arms slipped around her, holding her close. "What exactly are you a hybrid of?" His deep voice was filled with curiosity, although Mica knew that he was trying his hardest to sound caring.
"Human, and vampire," Mica paused, her throat drying. Drake nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. She swallowed. "And witch and shapeshifter."
"What?" Drake pulled back. "You're serious?"
Mica nodded warily. "The prophecy says that the Newest Power has the ability to tap into all four of those species' abilities. And the Newest Power has to battle Maya, to kill her."
"Abilities? Humans don't have abilities." Drake scoffed, frowning.
"Well, it said a human heart." Mica shrugged. "Maybe that means kindness or something…?" She shut her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. Drake, I can't do this. I'm not some super witch or vampire or anything. I'm just me, I can't fight Maya."
Drake brought his arms to her shoulders and gazed into her teary mahogany eyes. "Hey." His voice was soft and soothing. Drake leant in and kissed her softly on the lips, leaving only an imprint of his warmth and strength. "You are the strongest person I have ever met. Even when I thought you were a human, I knew that you had the strength to beat any of the vampires here. You're tougher than you give yourself credit for."
Mica trembled, her eyes welling up in tears. "I know what you're trying to do. I know that I'm supposed to be the one to get rid of Maya, but I honestly can't. I don't know how."
Drake paused. "Mica, I know you believe that everything happens for a reason, I sensed that right away. And what if you living with a group of the strongest, most powerful Night Worlders ever, happened for a reason. That it was your destiny to meet Thierry and Rashel and everyone, so that you could learn how to defeat Maya?"
"Drake, how am I supposed to defeat the strongest vampire of all time, the first of all the lamias?" Mica exclaimed. "She has abilities that amaze even Thierry! How could I possibly go up against that?"
"Because you're a survivor. You're a fighter, Mica." Drake spoke so softly that she could barely hear him over the roar of the fire. "And what's more, you never give in."
Do not give in. Mica blinked, looking up at Drake. How is it that he knew exactly what to say to motivate her? To tell her that she could indeed defeat the world's strongest evil and have her believe it. Because she did believe it now. And even if she didn't defeat Maya, she wouldn't give in.
"My Goddess, for a part vampire whose also part cat, you are the noisiest hybrid I've ever met."
Mica pulled away from Drake to see Ash standing in the library, wearing only a loose pair of black drawstring pants.
Mica made a face. "Ash, you've only met two hybrids. And for the record, Jez can be pretty loud."
"But not at night when we're all trying to get to sleep." Ash shot back. His eyes burned as gold as the embers in the fireplace as he glared at Drake. "What are you two doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep," Mica mumbled. "And then I found all of this prophecy stuff."
Ash's eyes recoiled in a soft blue-green as sympathy entered his gaze. "It'll be okay. You have Rashel, Quinn, Keller and me to help you with all the training; and Thea and Poppy can help you with all the witchy crap."
Mica raised her eyebrows. "Witchy crap? You think Thea would be so appreciative about you referring to her life as crap? Or Blaise for that matter?"
Ash's eyes widened, recoiling from the blue-green into a scared violet. "You wouldn't dare call Blaise."
Mica smiled in a way that she knew would make Blaise proud. "You know I would." Mica saw Blaise quite frequently at the Harman store that she now ran, and they both thoroughly enjoyed scaring Ash. "Anyway, I'm gonna go down to the basement, maybe figure out this vampire crap." She emphasized the last word with a glare at Ash.
"I'll come with." Drake said quickly, following his soulmate before Ash could make another remark.
"You've seen witch fire before, haven't you, Ms Everet?" Winnie Arlin said brightly, a shock of witch fire in her palms.
Mica laughed. "It's just Mica, thanks. And, I've seen it before, but well…its weird." She reached out a finger to touch the fire but Winnie closed her fist immediately, extinguishing the witch fire immediately.
"Witch fire is stronger and hotter than normal fire." Winnie said sharply. "Unless you are the witch who conjured it, don't touch it. It's a witch's defense, her power; it's made to hurt."
Mica nodded. "So how do I conjure witch fire?"
"Okay, cross your legs, hold out your hands in front of you and shut your eyes." Winnie guided Mica into a light meditation. "Breathe slowly and feel the power flow through you."
Mica felt something spark; a slow warmth curling inside of her. The warmth grew into tendrils of heat, fighting against her flesh to break free.
"Look." Winnie spoke softly. Mica opened her eyes and almost gasped. A bright, pale yellow fire was floating in her hands. Her fire was much lighter than Winnie's had been. In fact, Mica's fire was almost white.
"White fire." Thea murmured, her dark eyes wide.
"What is it?" Mica asked, frowning.
"Well, white fire is a sign of purity, of good." Thea said. "Back in the times of the dragons, a coven of witches helped the Harman clan to imprison the dragons. The history books say that white fire is the only magic that can fight the dragons' black fire."
"Um…" Mica stared at the heat in her hands. "How do I put it out?"
"Oh," Winnie turned back to Mica. "Just close your eyes and imagine the heat being drawn back into your body." Mica nodded and did so. Upon opening her eyes, the fire was gone.
"Are you guys done yet?" Keller asked impatiently. Winnie, Thea and Mica had taken two hours to reach the stage of witch fire. Next was the use of shapeshifter abilities.
"Yeah, we're done." Winnie said, standing up. "We can't wear you down too much, you won't have enough energy to save us all."
Mica smiled awkwardly and left, saying, "Thanks for the lesson."
"Witches," Keller muttered under her breath as she led Mica down to the basement. "Wait." She held out a hand to stop Mica halfway down the stairs. Mica frowned, holding her breath and looked up at Keller.
"What?" She asked in a hushed voice. Without missing a beat, Keller grabbed Mica and dropped her over the stair railing. Mica fell ten feet, from the stairs down to the hard concrete floor of the basement. To her amazement, her feet caught the floor with a silky ease of a cat. None of her muscles or joints hurt from the impact.
"What the hell was that for?" Mica exclaimed as Keller herself leapt over the railing and down in front of Mica.
Keller smiled faintly. "Just a test." She stalked over to the centre of the room. "Now, since you aren't a full shapeshifter, you won't be able to actually 'shift into your animal self. But there'll be certain abilities you'll learn through our sessions."
"Like what?" Mica crossed her arms over her chest. She glanced at Rashel and Quinn who were sitting against the wall, watching Mica.
"You're a cat, like me." Keller stated simply. "You're senses will be so much sharper than that of the vampires. You'll be faster, and you can even jump higher."
Mica raised an eyebrow. "Jump higher?" Keller nodded.
"I just want to show you something interesting." Keller took out a tiny whistle and blew into it. A sharp, shrill squeal stung Mica's ears and she buckled, covering her ears with her hands. She looked up and realized that Quinn and Rashel were unaffected.
"Okay, that's just cruel." Mica argued once Keller put the whistle away.
"Just proving a point."
After a grueling hour with Keller, Mica escaped to her room.
"Are you okay?" Drake entered her room after knocking.
"Yeah, I'm just exhausted." Mica turned over to find Drake hovering over her in her bed. She smiled immediately, feeling warm from having her soulmate so close to her. "I can't wait for this all to be over."
Drake leant down closer to her, and kissed her neck softly. "Me neither. We can finally just finish school and live the rest of our lives together." Mica sat up and stared at him. For a long moment, she just stared into his eyes.
"Mica-" Drake was cut off with a kiss. Mica almost jumped onto him, kissing him passionately. The connection hummed strongly, transforming the kiss from a physical sensation to a different level.
The world just melted away. Nothing mattered, not witch fire training, nor combat training. Not even Maya concerned the young hybrid at that moment. The only thing in the world that mattered was Drake.
Mica caressed his neck as he deepened the kiss. Just as Drake moved over her, a scream wretched them apart. Drake jolted up, off the bed and Mica ran down to where the scream had come from.
In the living room, Mary Lynette clung to Ash, her face frozen in shock and terror. Mica stood there, her jaw dropped. A young man stood across from them, his green eyes blazing. Mica's heart pounded as she realized that he wasn't a man, he was a vampire. A lamia to be exact.
"Who the hell are you?" Ash sneered in a cold voice, holding Mary Lynette behind him. His eyes consumed in black and his teeth elongated to delicate points in a stance that Mica could only describe as predatory.
"What are you doing here?" Drake's voice held a hint of panic. Mica turned around to see her soulmate stare in terror.