PART 7

PART 7

Madeline walked beside Griffin in the darkness. They had been effectively booted out by Mrs. Roze, and Gabrielle had ordered Griffin watched at all times until he was given the Lethe. "Keep your enemies close," went the old saying. So Madeline was on guard duty, even though she felt it to be unnecessary. Griffin was not likely to betray the circle, he just no longer wanted to be a part of it. She supposed that she could understand it to a small extent. His soulmate was a Daybreaker, so Griffin had to have a part of him, perhaps buried until now, that believed that Night People and humans could peacefully co-exist.

Madeline glanced up at Griffin's shadowed face. He looked…troubled. And sad. Of course he did. Anyone would when faced with the inevitable loss of the only family and the only way of life they had ever known. With the amount of Lethe he'd have to drink, Griffin would probably forget that he was even a witch. Madeline pitied him.

Griffin shot her a quick, angry glance before looking away. "I know what you're thinking. 'Poor Griffin, he has to give up everything.' You can just take your pity and shove it up your ass, Madeline, because I don't need it!"

"I can't change the way I feel, Griffin. You above all should know that."

"Yeah, well…. You know what, Madeline? You picked the wrong circle. You should be in Twilight. You're too fucking empathetic."

She smiled wryly. "Probably. My parents didn't give me a choice though. How did that old poem go? 'She walks in the Darkness/but her light shines through' It fits my situation, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, it fits." He smiled faintly, thinking of another the poem could describe. Aly. He'd been fascinated with her from the moment he'd first seen her in the school's parking lot. Her face combined strength and determination with beauty, and Griffin had been very attracted to her. He had though that he'd finally found someone whose will was a match for his own, an equal. But she was as weak as the others, she could make mistakes. Aly's light had shone through the darkness briefly, but then the darkness had devoured her.

"Griffin, what are you thinking about?"

"The pure injustice of life, why it would give you someone who you thought was your equal, but who turned out to be just as flawed as everyone else."

"Griffin, you aren't perfect. In fact, no one is perfect. It's an old and clichéd saying, but that doesn't make it any less true. No one can be strong all the time, and sometimes even knowing when to retreat is a strength. Do you still love her?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he breathed.

"That counts for something. If you get through this, remember that soulmates are forever, and remember that you will always love her, no matter what."

"I don't want to fucking love her! I want to hate her! I want to believe that she is a traitor, and I want to be able to hate her." He hung his head. "I want my life back the way it was."

Madeline smiled sadly. "Now you're just lying to yourself. Search yourself, Griffin, you can't hate her. You have a soulmate, a person who is your match and compliment in every way. You'd better get used to it."

Griffin walked in silence, pondering life and it's vicissitudes. Just a few days ago he had been Griffin Weald, assassin of Circle Midnight, confident in himself and his abilities. Now he was Griffin Weald, confused and doomed witch, who had no idea how to save himself or his soulmate from the destruction of all they were. Life had thrown him a fucking curve ball, and it was just his luck it was the only thing he couldn't hit.

***

Aly slept in late the next morning, resting and attempting to prepare herself for whatever Gabrielle and Circle Midnight would dish out. She knew it was pretty much hopeless, however. The Cup of Lethe was one of the only things in the witch world that there wasn't a counterspell to. If you drank from the Cup, your memory was gone forever. So she had to find some way to get out of it. Thierry was depending on her to find out what the circle was planning. Aly knew it was something big, and something forbidden, but she hadn't been on the inside long enough to find out more. And she had blown her only shot at finding out their plans last night. I'm a great spy, all right. This is one royal fuckup, Roze.

"Honey?" called Aly's mom from outside the door. "Can I come in sweetheart?"

Aly sighed, "Sure mom. It's open."

Eddie Roze walked into her daughter's room wearing a concerned look on her face that made her seem far older than she really was. "You are in trouble, aren't you? With Circle Daybreak?"

Aly nodded, not bothering to ask her mother how she'd known. Eddie would just say that mothers had a sixth sense or something like that. She looked up into her mother's face and saw Eddie's eyes fill with protective love for her daughter. Aly was only a small step away from throwing herself into her mother's arms like she was a little kid again and the school bully had beaten her up. "What am I going to do, mom? What the Hell can I do?"

"I wish that I could tell you, sweetheart, but I can't. Those girls are evil, I could sense that much from them, and they are powerful." Eddie hugged Alyson tighter. "I'm not strong enough to protect you, and Circle Daybreak doesn't even know that you're in trouble, do they?"

"No. How long have you known?"

"That you were spying for them? Since the beginning, sweetheart. Every witch must walk her own path, and the one you chose led you here."

"Way to go me," she said with a bitter, self-mocking smile.

"Oh, Aly-bear," said her mother empathetically. "I might have some old herb-protection spells in the basement. They'll protect you from most of their malevolent magic. C'mon let's go look."

Aly nodded, some small speck of hope rekindling in her soul. There had to be a way to get through this, and she would find it!