Revival

A/N: Well, I'm a little disappointed in myself, because I have the entire rest of this story written out (thanks to my cousin for solving my writer's block) and just as I was going to type it into Word, I couldn't find the notebook all the writing was in! It took me almost the entire time of this lack of updating to find it!

The fact that it was under my bed is a different story all together, but we won't get into that.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of updating, but since I finally found my notebook, updates should be coming in a lot faster! I'll probably be finished in another two to three chapters, depending on how I stop each one.

Italicized words mean thoughts or flashbacks

"Italicized words with quotations" mean mind-voices

Regular text means dialogue or description

Disclaimer: I do not own anything written under Diane Duane's name. Everything you recognize belongs to her and her distinguished publishers.

Chapter Ten:

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Nita read the last message and closed the manual thoughtfully. She rubbed her head in confusion.

"It's what Tom and Carl feared after all," she told Kit, who had been reading over her shoulder and was now leaning back in the kitchen chair comfortably. "The Lone Power is after only me. There isn't anything going on anywhere else other than here."

Kit nodded, reaching his arms up over the back of his head and clasping his hands together. Nita watch the motion with interest, noticing how his arm muscles—when did he get muscles? she wondered—flexed and then relaxed. He watched her watch him, a small smile crinkling his eyes.

"You have yet to hear from Ronan," Kit reminded her, and although he still had that amused expression, she noticed his mouth draw a bit tight. He's still jealous of Ronan, Nita thought, surprised. After all these years, and after everything we've been through, Kit is still bothered by that fling Ronan and I had when I went to visit Aunt Annie.

She started to answer, "No, he hasn't yet," when a small pop! of displaced air warned them of someone's arrival in Dairine's room. They both stood and quickly went into the hallway. Nita knocked on Dairine's door.

It was thrown open, revealing a scowling Dairine and Ronan himself, who, Nita saw, was looking quite unhappy to see Kit standing there beside her.

"I think he belongs to you," said Dairine waspishly, before she shoved Ronan out the door and shut it as quickly as it had opened.

After a briefly uncomfortable pause, Nita asked, "What are you doing here?" Kit just stood there, a small frown creasing his eyebrows.

"I got your message," Ronan said, his eyes darting from Kit to Nita. She noticed this and quickly led him into the living room before he asked any questions that she knew would be…embarrassing, to say the least.

Ronan looked around, taking in the worn carpet, the slightly-chipped-in-places paint, and fading furniture. Nita watched in mortification. She knew that her family was in rock and a hard place, but she was never really aware of it until now. Seeing Ronan brought back the last time he was here, and she remembered that he had been unconscious in Dairine's room and had therefore probably not seen most of the house.

Nita cleared her throat in what she hoped was a business-like manner and asked again, "Why are you here?" No time to get to the point than the present.

Ronan also cleared his throat. "I got your message, and I know that your aunt probably told you that all was well." Nita nodded. "Well, she doesn't know the young people the way I do," he went on. "We notice things that would otherwise go unnoticed."

Nita nodded again, and this time with complete understanding. All her life, adults had always told her that she was "too young to understand", or that "teenagers don't know anything about what is needed to be known". She always disagreed with this, because sometimes, adults wouldn't, or couldn't, understand something if it danced in front of their noses.

"I don't know if you have picked it up, but a lot of wizard partners are splitting," Ronan said. His Irish accent made the words sound less harsh than they really were. "All over, people are breaking their partnerships. Remember that group of kids I introduced you to at the pub?" he asked.

Nita nodded, uncomfortably aware of Kit's piercing look.

"I don't remember if I told you, but two pairs of those people were partners. And both pairs spilt ways just a few weeks ago. And at the meeting with Aunt Annie and the rest of the wizards? Most of them are partners with someone or other, and about half of them are split, too." Ronan sighed and shook his head sadly. "It's getting to where you can't meet anyone nowadays without knowing that they once had a wizard partner."

"So, you are saying that no one is a partner anymore in your town?" Kit asked.

Ronan shook his head. "I'm not sure if it is just my town or what, mate. But while there are a few people left that are associates, even they are at odds. If they aren't splitting as we speak, then it's coming soon."

Nita sighed heavily. This wasn't a good sign. She had half-hoped that maybe this was just a local thing, something only involving her and Kit, but now it seemed that she wasn't the only one subjected to the Lone Power's tricks and games.

Kit filled Ronan in with what had happened since they had spoken last. Nita admired the way that Kit held back his coldness to Ronan, but through their connected minds, she felt that suppressed anger and jealousy, and she wondered why he had such animosity towards Ronan.

"It's getting late," Kit said finally, and he stood. "I have homework, despite all this, and I haven't even touched it yet." He walked towards the door.

"I'll walk you out," Nita said quickly. She excused herself and walked Kit to her mailbox, where she knew he was mentally preparing to vanish to his home.

"It was a little weird, Ronan showing up like that, huh?" she said, and when Kit turned to her, she actually stepped back at the look of disgust on his face.

"Why'd he even come here?" Kit said, his voice low and menacing. "He could have just messaged you back like the rest."

"I…I don't know," Nita stammered, completely thrown for a loop at Kit's behavior.

Kit leaned in suddenly, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Has he ever kissed you?"

"Wh…What?" Nita asked shrilly. Where was all this protectiveness coming from?

"Ronan. Has he ever kissed you?" Kit asked again.

"I…um…" Nita knew she would never hide anything from Kit again, but she just wasn't sure if she wanted to tell that to Kit while he looked like he could punch something.

"Well… when I went to Ireland, there was this one time…" She could feel the heat of his glare, the judgment already in his eyes. "We kissed once, but it wasn't really him, it was Peach, and we…nothing happened, I promise! It didn't mean anything!" She was grasping at straws.

He didn't say anything; he didn't have to. The silence stretched on for so long that she felt it.

"I'll see you around," he said finally, and before she could respond, he vanished.

Nita gasped, breathing so heavily that she might have just run a mile or two without stopping. She stood there for a few more minutes, her heart growing heavier and heavier. Nita felt like she'd just failed the most important test of her life and would never have the chance to do it over.

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Heading back inside, Nita remembered that Ronan was still there. She wiped away a few tears that she hadn't noticed and took a deep breath.

"Did you want anything to drink?" she asked, trying to sound hospitable, even though the object of her and Kit's sudden divide sat right in front of her.

He shook his head and instead patted the spot on the couch next to him. She reluctantly took the seat offered.

"Do you have a partner?" she asked suddenly, surprising herself. She belatedly remembered that the word partner can have more than one meaning, and felt herself blush under his rapidly interested glance. "Wizard partner, I mean."

He shook his head again. "The closest I've ever come to having a partner was…you," he said, a small, knowing smile gracing his lips. Nita remembered those lips and shuddered inwardly.

"I work better alone," he said, and she nodded slowly. Ronan wasn't one to share anything, especially power.

He leaned in close. She felt the heat radiating from his body. "Why so interested?" he asked, his voice low and silky, almost a whisper. "Isn't Kit your…wizard partner?" She couldn't miss the way he emphasized on wizard.

"Actually…" Her voice came out a squeak. She cleared it and tried again. "Actually, Kit and I… I mean, we are…" She floundered helplessly in her attempt to explain just what they were, since even she herself didn't know anymore.

Ronan leaned back, all his warmness gone completely. "You mean you are a couple now?" he asked frostily. She nodded, unable to speak.

"I should have guessed." Ronan got up, moving away from her. "I have to go, but keep in mind what I said about partners splitting." And with that, he also vanished.

Nita shook her head. She had not seen Ronan since their last battle, but she always remembered his unnerving way to make her constantly question herself. It was a merit she did not like of him, she concluded.

Then she remembered what he had said. Was that what was happening to Kit and her? Was that fight the beginning of their inevitable split?

Nita hoped not. Kit was her best friend, her recent boyfriend, and above all, her wizard partner, and she was not willing to risk losing him in any of the three ways. She refused to believe that their partnership was over.

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Good? Bad? Ugly? I realize that both Kit and Ronan were completely out of character, but it's for a good purpose, I assure you! Want to tell me you opinion? Leave it in a review!

Review Button: "Yeah. What she said."

Thanks!