Chapter Ten
"So what did you think?"
"I don't think at eight in the morning," Jez grumbled. She was still dressed in her pajama bottoms and a fitted singlet. Her lithe form bent over the kettle and her hair spilled over her head in a crimson curtain.
"Or eight at night for that matter, not to mention the other twenty four hours of the day," Ash said wickedly. He was looking very much awake and in Jez' opinion, annoyingly very alive.
Jez found the source of her problems. She reached for the electric cord triumphantly and plugged it in. Luckily, she missed Ash' mocking laughter that was quickly disguised as a cough.
Rashel sent the lamia a warning look. She was not in the mood for a verbal war at the moment and her glare projected it at Ash with feeling.
Ash rolled his eyes and opened the fridge. He was leaning into it when he asked again, "So what did you think of her?"
Jez was eyeing Ash's behind thoughtfully. From the corner of her eye, she saw a smile creep onto Rashel's face. There was definite encouragement from that corner.
"I thought she was okay," Rashel answered, still eyeing the situation warily. "Quiet, shy, a tad dull but okay."
"She looked like she'd been frozen in a time capsule since last century," Ash said. His voice was muffled as hands rummaged through the jars and plates of left overs that graced that Daybreak refrigerator.
Jez bit her lip. There it was, the perfect opening.
"She looked what?" Rashel questioned innocently. She nodded at Jez.
"God, what is that?" Ash exclaimed. He tossed a plate over his head. The remains of the dish smeared across the far wall in a mess of pasta freckled with a green that was not oregano leaves. "I said 'frozen'," he continued. "Do you know what that means Rashel?"
Jez answered for the human. "Cold is a good definition."
"Bingo!" Ash exclaimed sarcastically. "Hey, is that the left overs from Poppy's cooking? I'll just get a better look."
"We didn't ask for a commentary, Ash. This is not the morning food show and you're definitely not the host," Rashel commented wryly.
"Yeah, yeah. Hang on."
"Yeah, Ash," Jez smiled. "Hang on."
Ash was pulling back from the fridge. He managed a 'what?' before Jez landed her foot against his backside and sent him flying into the fridge. From the crash of the plates inside it and the actual fridge itself shaking precariously, it was a hard kick.
"*Ouch!*"
Rashel gave Jez a discreet nod of approval.
Ash pulled himself out of the confined of the fridge with food plastered onto his head and sauce smeared across a face filled with fury.
"What the hell was that for?" he demanded, scraping jam off his face aggressively.
"Sorry," Jez apologized, putting her wide eyed and innocent look to practice. "I just said that I don't think this early in the morning."
"Shame," Ash said softly. His eyes glared at her. "If you had paused to let a thought battle its way into your thick head, you'd have realized that I'd have to repay your favor." He leaned into the fridge again with wary eyes watching Jez carefully and pulled out a plate.
"That's for tonight, Ash," Rashel warned from her perch at the bench. She had retreated behind what she deemed as a safe distance. "Poppy will kill you."
"Poppy couldn't kill a lethargic fly," Ash dismissed. His eyes still rested on Jez. "Where would you like it old girl?"
Jez backed away slowly. "Ash, come on. Poppy made that especially for Cally."
"Cally can't even say her own name let alone recognize a meringue pie. Try the next excuse," he invited.
"Uh," Jez stumbled for words as she reached the kitchen counter and the end of the line of retreat. "Morgead will kill you."
"Morgead would kill to see this," Ash corrected. He hefted the pie lightly in the air with a considering expression. "Any last requests?"
Jez gave a resigned sigh. "Your head on a plate?"
Ash actually laughed. "No sorry. Your head in a pie."
He moved forward and with unfortunate precision, the pie landed right on Jez' face. Cream dripped down her neck and onto her chest. The plate crashed to the floor at her feet with the sound of shattering glass.
Ash leaned back and folded his arms. His expression was triumphant and he looked immensely pleased with himself.
Jez took a handful of cream from her cheek and threw it on the floor. "Oh, Jezebel," Ash gushed. "That's such an improvement."
"You can't improve perfection," Jez returned angrily. She reached for a dishtowel. Instead of using it to wipe her face, she twisted it and moved towards Ash. With a sharp flick, she hit bare arm.
Ash reached out and grabbed the towel and gave it a sharp tug. He neatly pulled it out of her grasp and threw it back on the bench.
"Play nice and play fair," he quoted. He reached forward and ran a finger along Jez' nose. A dollop of cream came away with his finger as he removed it. "Care for some cream in the coffee?" he asked Rashel.
Rashel's mouth opened and she was on her feet and moving towards the door when the cream hit her back. After years of living with Ash, she still couldn't move fast enough.
"Okay, as an innocent bystander, I take offence to that."
"I don't believe in innocence," Ash grinned. "I just steal it."
"In your dreams, Ash," Jez mocked, laughing.
"Well, there too but you girls don't want to know details."
"You're disgusting," Jez snapped.
"This coming from someone soaked in pie?" Ash questioned. "Let's not get critical."
"Alright, that's it." Rashel headed for Ash with revenge in mind. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a handful of…something. "It's feeding time."
What began as an innocent meeting over breakfast ended as a full scaled war with any meal, vegetable or fruit (preferably both hard) used as ammunition.
~'*'~.~'*'~.~'*'~.~'*'~.~'*'~
"Oh, you're up," Thea's head peek around the door to Cally's room. The witch stepped inside hesitantly and looked around. "And your room's still clean."
"Uh, yeah," Cally replied slowly. The expression of wonder and surprise in Thea's voice was slightly confusing.
Thea's face broke into a smile. "Sorry," she apologized. "I guess you haven't seen the rest of the house yet. This would be the cleanest room I've seen for a while."
"Oh."
A slight frown marred the forehead of the older girl at Cally's obvious lack of response. Thea cleared her throat and pasted a sunny smile onto her face. "Are you hungry at all?" she inquired politely. "I can grab you something to eat."
The girl now known as Cally ducked her head in embarrassment. "What about someone to eat?" she muttered softly, recognizing the building need of her blood thirst.
Thea looked abashed. "Sorry, I forgot. I'll get some blood for you okay? Just wonder around a bit while I get things sorted." She paused with one hand on the door handle. "Will you be okay by yourself?"
Cally heard the concern and hesitancy in the witch's voice and forced a smile of reassurance on her face. She nodded confidently. "Sure, I'll be fine."
Thea paused then returned the smile. "Okay, I'll see you soon then."
The witch left the room in a haze of golden hair and grace, leaving Cally with a feeling of ineptness just at the sight. The girl pushed red gold hair behind her ears and went to her feet slowly but with gritted determination.
Her outfit could never be considered stylish by anyone's standards and she looked down at the standard uniform of jeans and a t-shirt with surprising distaste. Maybe that was a clue, she thought to herself. Maybe before she had had some dress sense and style.
She sighed to herself. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe didn't answer any of the questions that burned inside her. Like how she had come to be here in the first place or who she'd left behind or even if she had had to leave them behind.
She shook her head, sending waves of curls around her and stepped forward boldly with a deep breath.
She opened the door and stepped into the hallway, only to come face to face with a dark haired and undeniably handsome guy with gem green eyes.
The guy looked surprised to see her and stopped abruptly. "Hi," he greeted her casually. "You're up."
She looked down at herself then back at him. "Yeah."
"We've met," the guy reminded her, "I'm Morgead. Remember?"
"Oh," she stammered. "Morgead, yeah."
Morgead's green eyes were growing slightly frustrated. "Yeah, Morgead," he agreed. He looked down the hallway with an expression of wistfulness and she knew that he would rather be down there than making small talk with her. And even she had to admit that it really was small talk.
"Do you want to come down to the kitchen?" he asked, turning back to her and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Everyone's down there."
"Everyone?" she repeated.
Morgead looked at her with disbelief. "Yes," he replied slowly. "Ev-er-y-one."
Cally blushed and looked down. She nodded a little and Morgead must have taken that as consent because he continued down the hall, fully expecting her to follow.
He pushed open the door and a cascade of noise hit her first. Laughter, squeals and yells of outrage invaded her senses. Then the sight of teenagers covered in food and armed with it assaulted her.
Morgead left her to reach to the side of a girl with what looked like a meringue pie on her head. Two others were backing her into a corner until Morgead pushed past them with a dish of something in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. The girl greeted him with relieved laughter and a smile.
He yelled something at the girl above the din and was answered with a playful shove.
While she was staring with ill concealed fascination, a food covered figure appeared at her side.
He licked his finger and blanched. "Ew, that must be one of Quinn's efforts," he winced. "If only the boy were as good with a spoon as he is with a knife," he commented wistfully.
Cally looked unsure at this sudden appearance.
"Want some?" the guy offered, holding out a finger.
Cally took one look at what he was holding out to her and shook her head.
"Yeah, I don't blame you," the guy agreed, wiping it on his already soiled trousers. "I'm Ash," he continued. "Ash Redfern."
Redfern? The name rung a bell and for a moment she was caught in the hazy promise of a memory. Then it was lost and refused to resurface. Despair caught her in the throat and she turned away.
"I'd shake your hand but you look the type to get offended," Ash continued in rambling, distracted sort of way. His eyes were viewing the mass before them with studied precaution.
Cally wasn't really listening. Her body was screaming at her, her veins were burning and demanding blood. Her head throbbed and her senses were ridden with need.
"Whoa," Ash looked down at her in surprise. "They haven't fed you? I can feel your thirst from here. Urgh, I hate that."
Cally was one step from apologizing before Ash stopped her. "Come with me and I'll fix you up. In the process I might get to earn a favor from someone as well so we'll both win."
He cast one regretful look at the mess behind him before sighing and leading her out of the kitchen. He checked behind him once to make sure she was still following as he led her down a hallway or two until they reached a closed door.
"Knock, knock," he announced as he burst in.
A dark haired girl looked up through narrowed eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you -"
Ash cut her off with a charming smile. "Ah, but today I've brought a surprise."
The girl was not impressed. "If it's another heartfelt tune about my black heart or even worse, a rendition of 'the day and the hour and the minute I met Mary-Lynette' then get out now."
"Tut tut, Blaise," Ash scolded. "You know how much time I put into those."
The girl he called Blaise glared at the vampire with distaste. "This had better be good," she warned.
"As good as my Mary-Lynette," Ash promised.
"You're making me sick."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "You can say thank you after you see it," he decided. He turned around and without a warning, grabbed Cally's wrist and pulled her forward.
"Here you go dearest cousin," he smiled. "The girl needs a drink and we're not talking alcoholic here."
Blaise's eyes widened and the book in her lap was snapped shut with a loud bang as she went to her feet. "You!" she said. "Just who I need to see."
Ash looked smug. "Like the surprise?"
Blaise cast a swift glance at the lamia. "Yeah, I do actually. That's a first." Her eyes turned down to his clothes in disbelief. "Why do you look like a walking dinner table?" she asked, frowning. "You're wearing last nights entrée, dinner and desert in one."
Ash looked down as if he had just remembered his slightly crazed ensemble.
"Food fight in the kitchen," he explained.
Blaise looked unmoved. "We may look like humans, Ash, but we should never try to act like them."
Ash rolled his eyes and smirked. "Staying true to the end even now?" he asked silkily. "I don't know why you're here and not there."
Cally didn't ask where 'there' was but she definitely wondered when a strange mix of emotions passed Blaise's eyes.
For once, the girls face was almost calm. "I owe Thea," she reminded Ash softly. "And you should be grateful that I am here and not there."
Ash looked at the girl for a long moment and then glanced at Cally who was still standing silent and unobtrusive by the corner. He returned to Blaise's face with a calm look on his face.
"Make sure you cover your tracks," he instructed firmly.
A twitch of a smile touched Blaise's lips. "Always," she replied.
Then Ash left and Cally was left with this girl and her artic gaze.
"You're hungry?" Blaise inquired gently.
Cally nodded reluctantly. Her eyes went to the pulse at Blaise's neck and its promise of blood.
Blaise saw the look and smiled to herself. She stepped forward and offered her neck until Cally hesitantly leaned down. Slowly and inch by inch she drifted closer to Blaise's neck until suddenly, Blaise wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pushed her down, sinking her teeth into the flesh at her neck.
The blood swam down Cally's throat and the relief was almost too much. She grew stronger and the sensation and taste of it was so warm and welcome she felt herself relax.
This was not however to last. Suddenly, she felt a mental punch. It hurt.
What are you doing?
She asked in a voice filled with fear.Blaise's mind invaded her own roughly and determinedly. I'm trying to find out who you are, girlie, and who the hell cast this little spell of yours.
Cally felt another blow and winced in pain. She tried to pull back, to pull away from the other girl but that arm around her neck held her fast so that her fangs remained buried inside Blaise's flesh.
Blaise was trying to get into her mind. She was trying to smash through her mental wall with a brutality that hurt with every blow.
Stop it!
Just lower the barriers,
Blaise demanded. You want to know who you are as much as I do.Stop it!
Cally repeated.She felt Blaise wince at the volume of her mental voice. Then she winced as the witch directed another mental punch into her mind. Darkness enveloped her for a second and she struggled for consciousness.
"BLAISE HARMAN, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Suddenly, Cally was being released and she was pushed to the floor where she landed in a tangle of confused limbs.
Then Thierry was storming into the room. A wave of authority and surpressed rage surrounded him and he directed all of it at the proud figure of Blaise Harman.
"Cally get out!" he demanded, pointing a finger outside. "Now!"
The girl struggled to her feet and slowly made her way out of the room. Her head was aching and her legs were reluctant but she made it. The door slammed behind her and she was left in an empty hallway.