C h a p t e r T e n

E v e n i n g

"How're you feeling?" Beth opened her eyes. She was laying in a hospital bed. Kotori was in the bed beside hers. Beth had known she was in a hospital. The smell of the astringent was making her nose itch. What she couldn't recall was precisely why she was in a –oh, yes. She'd been stabbed. "So I don't need to explain?" her best friend inquired, watching Beth's face pale.

"How bad was it?" Beth asked, pushing down the coarse, thin blankets and feeling her ribs. The area was still tender and sore. Hazy white spots of pain danced in her eyes when she touched it.

"The doctors said you were lucky. Your lungs weren't hit, and because both you and Cain had the foresight not to take out the knife, you didn't lose a lot of blood. There was some internal bleeding, but nothing bad. I thought I was going to faint when they took the knife out from you right in front of me, though…. I've seen a lot of things in my life, but nothing ever scared the shit out of me like that. They have you heaped up on a bunch of painkillers and antibiotics. We're both supposed to spend the night for observation. I don't know what happens tomorrow if they come in and check on us and find out we're further healed than we should be." She paused, looking around disgustingly. Her pert nose wrinkled at the smell. "I hate hospitals."

Beth agreed, nodding. "How are you doing, Kotori?"

She held up her cast so Beth could see the cast. Kotori was forcing herself to smile and her dark, beautiful eyes were dim with pain. "It's a clean break. The doctors set it and have me on painkillers. I guess this means I won't be flying any time soon. I never thought I wouldn't be able to fly, even if it will only be for a week or two. I feel so caged in here."

"It is a hospital." She slowly lay back down in bed, curling her legs up to her chest. She felt lonely. When Cain had carried her, she'd been able to feel his thoughts pressing against hers even after she had passed out. They felt like the sun hitting her eyelids as she'd ride in cars, staring out the window with her eyes closed. She could feel the sun and the warmth pressing against her even though she was blind to it. They were the sweet promises of what she would see if she touched him when she was awake. They were whispered kisses and sweet, delicious exploration and discoveries… for both of them.

Now she was lonely again, longing for that mind. She reached for the connection inside herself, touching it gently. From his end she felt a bit of curiosity but nothing back. He was giving her free reign with it. Beth let it be, contented for now with knowing that he was safe.

"Cain's an amazing guy," Kotori said, stirring Beth from her thoughts. She faced her friend. "He brought you here and waited until he found out you'd be okay. Then he went back out to get the others. He said that you wouldn't forgive him if they died, because that was just the type of person that you were. Even Nick was completely against the idea of bringing them to the hospital, but Cain talked him into it."

Beth pursed her lips. Cain perhaps had her on too much of a pedestal. She wasn't a saint. She hadn't been stopping him from killing Mike and his friends; she'd just been trying to stop him from using his powers and exposing his true identity. She guiltily turned away from Kotori to hide her true feelings.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep." The bed shifted as Kotori lay down, drawing the covers up to her shoulders. From somewhere down the hall a respiration monitor beeped steadily. The sound was unfamiliar. "I don't know how much I'll be able to get, though… I hate hospitals."

Cain and Nicolas brought the men to the hospital. This time, they didn't bother to wait to see if they were okay. Cain nodded courteously to the vampire and left. Nick said that he was going to wait in the reception hall so he could be closer to his Soulmate. Cain felt jealous.

"She is close to you… your Soulmate?"

He had smiled. "Not as close as I like, but it's never as close as I'd like. She's young and needs free reign. I don't want her to get entangled in my life… though these days it seems like her life is hard enough as it is."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… the stuff that happened today, dealing with her parents, dealing with having a Soulmate that'll be trapped in the body of an eighteen year old until the coming of the goddamn Messiah, her best friend having gone missing, politics, fights at school, fights outside of school… Kotori and Beth have a hard life for teenagers. It's why I always try and smile and joke around them."

Cain stared at him, his face stoic. "I envy you, Rappaport. I've met my Soulmate. I've seen inside her mind, but I don't understand her nearly the way you understand Kotori. Not understanding her… at times it's almost painful. You're lucky that you were able to find yours in one of your friends. I found mine in one of my enemies, and the way she sees the world always interferes… but lately, I've been giving her arguments more thoughts. The older I get and the more aware of the dangers in this world, the more I keep thinking that there's too much fighting and maybe I should just give up."

"Give up as in side with your Soulmate?" Cain nodded. Nick leaned on whatever was closest—the wall of the hospital—and stuck his hands into his jean pockets. "Cain, I've recently found my Soulmate, so maybe it's not meant for me to give advice on the mater… but when two people are such complete opposites like that, maybe there's something to your words… but maybe you should keep making your arguments, too. You guys are supposed to balance each other out. If you give in and become exactly like her then you're going to be the same and it's going to be very boring. Even Soulmates need to have some opposition between them—any couple does. It's about finding the middle ground."

He reached over and slapped Cain on the back, leaning in close. His eyes were concerned, but not for him. "And tell Kotori or Beth that you're a taken man, will you? My darling Soulmate is guilt-ridden with the fact that she's no longer alone and is desperate to fix Beth up with someone who may be able to take the sting out of being alone. Unfortunately, she's targeted you."

His face was still smooth and emotionless. "Bethany has not been herself since she came back and learned Kotori has found you?" Nicolas nodded. "How has she been acting strangely?"

"Just… less happy than normal, lonely, a little bit more down to earth and realistic, sometimes almost hurtfully so. I don't want to say callous, but normally Beth has a sweet tact about her, and since she came back, it's been ripped away. Of course, that could have less to do with what happened to Kotori and more to do with what happened to Beth herself… but I'm talking too much. Remember, so far as Beth knows, you don't know what happened to her. We're keeping it under wraps… but seeing as how you seem to be Beth's friend, I thought you should know so you can tread carefully around her. I'm still her boss and I've still watched that girl grow up, and if you hurt her, I'm going to bring a building down on your head."

Both men smiled at each other in understanding. They'd marked out their territory, and Cain was contented with giving this strange, red-headed man care of Bethany… for now. When they were able to find this middle ground that Nicolas spoke of, he would claim Bethany from Nick's protection.

Unable to spend more time at the hospital, Cain nodded courteously to Nick and left. The red-head would make sure that no harm came to the two girls, and make sure their families came to check up on them. He headed home, knowing that he had homework to do and a lady-dragon to court. Without money, he was forced to walk home. Not that Cain minded—it gave him more of an opportunity to look at the human world up close and personal. By the time he got home, however, it was late.

Mackenzie opened the door as Cain approached it. His face looked almost ugly with simmering anger. "Downstairs. Basement. Now."

He didn't ask why. Cain shrugged and headed down to the basement. Only when he was down there did he take a seat in the wooden chair in the basement, sitting to face Mackenzie as the vampire paced with righteous fury. "Why the basement?"

"It's warded against scrying spells and has special dampeners on to keep all sound in here. This is where we kept Beth before we took her to the mountains." He noted that Kaneonuskatew became unsettled at that thought and slid out of the chair. "If Fala comes home, she won't be able to find you in here and she won't be able to hear us talk. Frankly, I don't want to piss that girl off. She's out of control, Cain. She's been killing humans ever since she was awakened. She was bragging about it to Emile this evening after school. She ate a whole family who was out camping when we were in the wilderness. On the second night it was a park ranger. The third night it was another park ranger, this one asleep on guard duty that she seduced outside so she wouldn't get blood everywhere.

"She kills indiscriminately. She kills too much!" The vampire paced towards Cain, gripping his arm tightly. "Do you know what she told Emile her favorite meal was? Do you? Children, Cain, children! She said it was like us eating veal. I'm a goddamn fucking vampire and even I don't think like that about children!"

"You were also once human yourself. Ask Emile. Perhaps it is different for lamias, or the environment that you grew up in. Today I encountered some vampires who probably were not above seeing even shifter children as tasty snack before bedtime. Every species has its fault."

The vampire was stronger than he seemed. His hands jumped out to grab the hem of Cain's shirt. At first the dragon had thought that Mac wasn't going to ask about the blood from the fight and holding Bethany's wounded body that had stained his shirt, but apparently the vampire had noticed it from the very beginning. He slammed Cain up against a wall. "And why are you late, Cain? How many people have you killed?"

"None."

The vampire's eyes were silver-blue, shifting in the subtle changes of the flickering basement light. His nose moved up and down and his grip on Cain's shirt tightened. "It's my sister's blood on you."

"Half-sister," he corrected. Apparently it was the wrong thing to do. He slammed him up against the wall again. Cain had had enough abuse. His form melted, becoming broader and tougher. The twenty-three year old Cain stared back at the vampire, looking down at him with an almost imperial expression. "Some men were attacking Bethany and her best friend. I helped to stop them but your sister was wounded in the process. She's at the hospital, recuperating."

"You haven't killed any humans?"

The dragon's dark eyes flashed with drunken desire when he thought of Michael and his friends. Oh, how he would love to kill them! "Not that I haven't met people that I would like to kill, but no, I haven't."

He released Cain, satisfied with the dragon's honesty. Although his face revealed nothing and was a superb mask for lying, Mackenzie believed that he was telling the truth and that he had not eaten any humans. "It must be hard for you," Mackenzie said, "to stomach the idea of eating a human being when your Soulmate is half human."

A low growling filled the room. Mac realized that the rumbling sound which was making the dust laying on the ground shake came from Kaneonuskatew the same time the dragon reached out and grabbed his throat. The vampire could see small, delicate wisps of black lightning jump over the dragon's skin—no. Not black; green. In the light of the room he could see that it was actually green; deep, emerald green that captured all light so it appeared black.

"What did you say?" The voice reverberated from the walls. In has gaping, snarling mouth Mac could see the emerald-black lightning leaping about from tongue to tooth.

He struggled to talk and found that he couldn't. There was too much pressure on his throat for his voice box to work properly. He switched to telepathy to speak. I have a Soulmate too, Cain. I know what it's like. I started suspecting that you and Beth were Soulmates when we were still in the foothills because I saw how you looked at her. You never took your eyes off of her. I heard it every time you said her name because it was the way I'd say Emile's name when I first found her. I only ever suspected. He laughed telepathically inside the dragon's head. It was your reaction that confirmed it.

"I'd not be so quick to judge and laugh, Mackenzie. One jolt from my mind and I could blast you away to leave nothing but a shell behind." The grip around his neck tightened. Cain wanted to make sure that Mackenzie was absolutely certain of who was the stronger being. "Why did you feel the need to bring up my Soulmate?"

Because she's part of the reason why you haven't been eating humans, isn't she? Let me down, Cain. The dragon released his grip and set Mac back down on the floor. The vampire rubbed his neck to ease the pain in his throat, coughing to clear his voice box. "Is Fala stronger than you are now?"

His dark eyes stared suspiciously at Mac. He didn't like answering the question. "If she's been eating as much as you say… yes. It would be an equal fight. I'd only need two good shots to render her powerless, but all I'd need to is to let my guard down three times and I would be in that same situation. Fighting her when the outcome is that close is not something I'd prefer to do. Horn for horn, yes, she's stronger."

"You're a three-horned dragon?"

"Yes."

Mackenzie seemed uneasy with that information. "If you started eating humans, would you be stronger?"

Now an eyebrow arched. His suspicion was heightening. "Yes."

The vampire began pacing again. His hand rubbed his throat and then his neck, and into his thick hair, and then back to his neck. Cain was amused to note that the man was fidgeting. "We've been thinking—the others, and I. We're tired of this, Cain. We dreamed so much about waking the dragons that now that we're at the next step we don't want to take it. We don't want to start a war. We don't want anymore bloodshed."

"Just how many bodies did it take for a vampire to become unable to stomach bloodshed?" Cain sneered. He regretted it when Mac stopped pacing, his face paling as his guilt pictured the bodies piling up before him. Cain nodded. "Too many, then."

"We're going to trust you. I trust you because of what you've done for Beth. As far as you may be from her, you're closer than I am to her, and I regret that I ever pushed that distance between us. Goddess, I regret that," he sighed. "Fala is dangerous. How long will it before she turns on Louis-Etienne for being white, or Emile because she's not a shifter or Zhi Niao for being Chinese? No one is safe from her, no one! We need to take her down before she turns on us or before she single-handedly ruins the cover the Night World has had for centuries. We'll wait for your sign. We'll follow you, Kaneonuskatew. We'll fight with you."

"You?" Mackenzie nodded. Cain decided to choose his words carefully, recognizing the need for tact in this situation. But tact, he decided three second later, was why he was supposed to have Bethany by him. He didn't have the patience for tact. Even trying to be sensitive, his voice was sharp. "This could easily turn into an aerial battle. We're dragons, after all. What good would your aid do then, Mackenzie? Gawain and Zhi Niao are the only two on your team capable of helping me. Even the werewolf is helpful, so long as Fala is on the ground. You and Emile are of no use to me until Fala's horns have been removed—only then will your precious guns be able to hurt her."

Cain breathed in deeply. "If we are to defeat Fala, I must feed, but I will not feed off of anyone innocent. I will not be like Fala. If you wish to help me, then you can drive me to the hospital."

"What's at the hospital?"

His eyes were as hard and black as obsidian. "The men who attacked you sister."

He went to the hospital in his traditional body. No one recognized him. Even Nicolas, with his vampire senses, didn't recognize Cain as he walked by while the vampire was fetching some food for the girls from the cafeteria.

Cain was hunting. Ahead of him he spotted a male nurse: the target he was looking for. He picked up his pace, reaching down inside him for the lightning. Since he'd learned about Fala, it had been snapping about inside his body, waiting for some kind of release and practically leapt with excitement at being beckoned. Reaching out with his mind, he slammed it into the nurse's mind, short-circuiting it. The man at once fell unconscious and Cain caught him.

Glancing around to make sure he hadn't been seen, he dragged the nurse into a supply closet. There, he stripped the nurse of his smock, keys, ID tag, and scrubs. He checked to make sure he had not caused the man any mental damage. The nurse was dreaming about hula dancers. Cain smirked mentally. He supposed that was a normal dream for a twentieth century human.

Cain slipped out of the supply closet, heading towards the emergency room area. A sharp 'excuse me' made him pause by the entrance. He glanced over his shoulder to see a plump black woman staring at him. Her long ponytail, done up in tiny dreads and tied off with brightly colored beads, rattled when she spoke. "Just who the hell are you?"

He flashed her the ID tag with a smile. His willingness to show it and his charming expression immediately turned off her suspicious, defensive attitude. "My name is John. I'm a transfer student from Kamloops, here to see how Victoria's emergency rooms work to learn how we could be more efficient."

"I don't remember hearing about this," she snapped.

He shrugged. "I can't be held accountable for that, unfortunately. A memo was supposed to have gone around. Can you update me on your emergency rooms? Are there any problems?" He shot her another smile; this one was softer. "I'm about to start my observation shift. I'd like to be prepared on what to expect tonight or where I should stay away from in my observing."

She didn't seem to like the question. She answered it anyway, with a sigh that made her buxom chest bounce. "Stay away from E-11 through E-13. Some boys were brought in today. A man found them trying to gang-rape two girls."

"Are the girls okay?"

"Yes. One was lucky to still be alive, and the other girl has a broken arm. Neither of them had been violated. We gave them a rape kit when they came into the hospital to gather forensic material in case they or their families wanted to press charges. But the boys are stronger. I think they must be football players or something. They came too while some of the orderlies were tending to their wounds and gave one of them a black eye before they were restrained. We have them bound to the beds and under heavy sedation. The last thing we want is to send you back to Kamloops looking back and blue."

"The thought is appreciated," he said, adding a little laughter to his voice.

"The man who brought them in said he'd given them a good thrashing to keep them off of the girls. When they came in, there was little evidence of it though. It's one of the strangest cases I've ever seen…" She sighed again, giving up. She didn't have time to try and rationalize their wounds. Instead, she eyed Cain's face. He prayed she wasn't going to take a look at the ID badge. Cain was wearing his normal skin. He didn't want to waste a shape to take on some nurse's body. Her eyes, however, were locked on his hair. "I don't know how Kamloops operated, but in this hospital, that haircut is against regulations. Here."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a hair band. The nurse pressed it into his hand. "Do it up. Jesus Christ, kids these days. And have fun on your observations." She waved to him and carried on.

Cain let out his breath. The first test was done. He was into the area where the boys were kept and he knew which rooms they were in. Now all he had to do was to bring them outside to where Mac waited with the car. He began pulling his long hair up into a ponytail.

He as at E-11 before he realized he was being followed. He turned around to see Beth standing there. He'd been so preoccupied thinking about how he was going to sneak Michael downstairs he didn't realize that their connection was becoming stronger as she drew closer to him.

She was standing on the cold tire floor in her bare feet. The hospital gown she was wearing made her look even younger than her normal clothes did, hanging dully off her shoulders. If not for her shoulder-length hair, she'd almost look like a pre-teen boy, he thought. She stood bravely before him, her face smooth. She had greatly improved her ability to hide her emotions from him, and he had to quench a sudden wave of pride. He nodded to her.

"Bethany."

"Kaneonuskatew."

She said it perfectly. He loved how it rolled off of her tongue in a quick snap, while at the same time enjoying the sound of each syllable pressing into the roof of her mouth. He wanted to hear her say it again. He'd missed hearing his full name; his proper name.

"I felt you when you walked by our room. I thought you were coming to check up on us, but you kept going… and then I realized that there was only one other person you'd be here to see. It's Michael, isn't it? He's here too. You brought him back here because you thought I'd hate you if you let them die."

"Yes."

Her mouth was a tight line. "You're an idiot, then." She stepped closer to him, speaking in a furious, hissing whisper to keep from yelling at him. The scent of her blood still clung to her body, and it made him feel guilty and aroused at the same time. It was hard for him to resist leaning down and smelling her hair, knowing that Kotori wasn't around to spy on them. He tried to focus on her words instead. "I may be younger than you, but I'm not stupid, Cain. I'm aware of what Michael and his friends were trying to do to Kotori and I. I didn't stop you from killing them. I stopped you from exposing yourself to Kotori. She doesn't know what you are, Cain. She thinks you're just a shifter, the same way all the other Night Worlders in our school do. And Mike is a Night Worlder too. You didn't have to go back and get him. He wouldn't have died. He's a vampire.

"Cain," she said softly, placing her hand on his arm. He didn't move an inch, feeling captured by this strange, child-like creature in front of him. He was awed by the sudden ruthlessness of her eyes and the unfamiliar closeness of her body. Her hand slowly slid down his arm, towards the exposed skin of his hand. "I want to show you something."

Their skin touched. Her shields were down again and his mind was suddenly pulled into hers. He blinked, finding it odd to process that he could see Bethany in front of him in the hallway at the same time that he could see her in the thought-forest of her mind. There, in that place, was the animal-Bethany. He understood that this was the shape her mind took when she was distraught. The mountain lion didn't have to deal with morality or emotion.

She led him deeper into the forest. He brushed thoughts, catching tastes or sounds of tantalizing memories. Cain was happy in that mind. There were so many thoughts and memories he could lose himself in that jungle and spend his whole life exploring it. She kept leading him further into her mind, until he become so lost he knew he'd never find his way out himself. There, buried in the centre of that maze, was a tree. It was so twisted almost beyond recognition of a tree.

"What is this?"

There was a movie I watched when I was little. It was called Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest. In that movie, there was a tree in the middle of the forest that kept an evil force trapped. That's where I got the shape from. This is my evil tree. It holds all of my doubts and hate. This is my evil side. I can't stand you thinking I'm this… do-gooder, like I don't understand the need to kill. I may not be able to take this shape in reality, Cain, but I still have the instincts of an animal. I want you to touch this tree. That branch, she indicated, gesturing with a nod of her head. It's that branch you want.

"Are you certain?"

Beth nodded. Just don't think less of me for what you see. I'm trying hard not to be a hypocrite. I'm trying hard to take pride in myself. Her voice became heavier with sadness. It's just a little harder some days…

He accepted it. He tried to give her as much acceptance as he would before he reached out to touch the tree. Bethany's thoughts flooded into his mind. He was surprised how deep and far the roots went. The tree was no taller than he was at the thinnest branch but the roots were spread throughout the rest of the forest.

She hated herself. There were some days when she cursed herself in the mirror. There were days when she was so frustrated with her body and her failure to change her shape that she wished Eliza had never saved her from being killed child as a child. She wished she would just drop dead to put an end to her misery. And from that self-loathing she had turned it around into righteous fury on the head of her father.

She hated the genes he gave her. She hated that because she had his blood she couldn't shapeshift. She hated him for raping her mother. She hated him for being weak. She hated her mother for not having fought back against him because of the stupid rules. From there, she started to hate humans. She hated them for being blind and stupid; for never thinking, blindly following the people around them. She hated them for their wars and their laws and their narrow, fearful views.

Sometimes, she wished that they'd all die. But, then, there were equally days when she wished all teachers would drop dead, or her fellow students, or Eliza, or government officials, or her bosses… it was just part of being a teenager. What wasn't excusable, what wasn't healthy, was the never ending rage.

Then there was the righteous fury. The same hatred that fueled the anger she felt for her father was turned towards men like him. She could recall when a black girl in her school had been raped and she had spent the day thinking of the perfect revenge on the man who had assaulted her. She couldn't stand rapists.

Cain probed that line of thought further, following it back to a new plant, only recently formed. It was a seedling in a patch of plants all relating somehow to her memories of Kotori. It hummed with a strange power, the connection. It was beautiful, whatever it was, bound up in loyalty. She'd been willing to die to protect Kotori, and the bubbling instincts she had spoken of to him before had been screaming for Michael's blood.

She still was screaming for it.

He'd seen enough. Cain pulled away from the tree to stare at Beth with new respect. No, he couldn't forget this aspect of Bethany. He'd become too attached to the idea that Bethany was a sweet, innocent girl… and she was. But in other aspects she had also seen far too much for a girl her age. She understood the reasons behind her instincts and she embraced them willingly.

Mackenzie had been wrong. He'd explained Daybreakers to Cain. It had only contributed to Cain's image of Bethany as a sweet and sensitive little girl. Cain thought that Daybreakers didn't believe in violence. He thought they didn't understand the need to sometimes retaliate with a heavy hand. Apparently—thankfully, to Cain, Beth did understand that. And, through her memories, he knew that they rest of the Daybreakers she knew understood it as well.

Sometimes you had to kill.

I won't hate you for this, she told him. I hate the fact that you and I are playing judge, jury, and executioner, but you and I agree on this. If all you ever eat, Cain, are sexual predators, I think you'd be making the world a better place.

Beth shut her mind, forcing him back into his body. He glanced around quickly. Seeing no one in sight and hearing no one approaching, he leaned down to kiss her lips swiftly. He didn't even have time to wrap his arms around her. It was not the first kiss he wanted to have with her, but he was overcome with the urge to just do it. Her body tensed, waiting for their minds to meet. It was so quick that they could feel their thoughts swirling together, but never mingling.

Her body went still. He could taste her blood on her lips. She wasted wonderful. The coppery hint to it went straight to his stomach and he realized how hungry he was for human flesh. Yet there was a strange otherness to it; a delicious otherness that made his knees weak, overcome by the flavor.

Just as soon as he tasted her, he was pulling away, fearing that stranger hunger her blood elicited in him. Cain stared her eye to eye. She wasn't breathing, still processing that she had been kissed. He raised his hand to stroke her cheek. He could feel their minds trying to connect, but their shields held, and they remained in their own bodies.

°He'll never hurt you or Kotori again." Her held breath broke in a sob. "Go back to your room, Bethany. You don't want to be implicated in this."

Beth ran back to her room. Her eyes were bloodshot when she came back. Kotori and Nick were too busy talking to notice the redness in her eyes. She climbed back into bed and shut her eyes, forcing herself into a fretful night of sleep.

Michael Richmond woke up when someone slapped his face. He snarled, cursing when he found himself bound in a chair. Someone grabbed his jaw, silencing his oaths and lifting his face. An overhead light blinded him, but gradually his eyes adjusted. Two men stood over him. One was an older Native man with shoulder-length hair and the body of a professional football player. The other was only half-Native, a little on the scrawny side compared to the first man. Neither of them looked particularly kind at the moment.

The older man turned to the vampire. He smelled, to Michael, like a shifter, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what family he belonged to. It kept shifting. "You're certain this room is sound proof?"

The other man nodded. "Absolutely. Reinforced with padding and spells. Even if he's as strong a telepath as you, he won't be heard upstairs let alone by his allies."

Turning back to Michael, the other man smiled. His teeth were very white and very sharp. "Good."