Seth refused to believe it. He still did. There was absolutely no way that Chastity could be what Therina described her as. Therina was jealous of Chastity anyway, it would make sense that she would make this stuff up just to scare him away from her.
Chastity with all her wonderful golden blonde innocence...she couldn't be...a...a...
~Vampire~ he thought miserably, ~Say it.~
He headed to Chastity's apartment, determined to make her talk to him. He needed to know, and he wanted the information coming from her, not from someone else. She could tell him the truth.
But even if it turned out to be true, would it even matter? But...she drank *blood*. If it were true. What if she fed on him? Or killed him?
Chastity wouldn't...
Would she? He didn't know her that well really. Was this soulmate thing really enough to tie him to someone who was a walking corpse, even if she was gorgeous? He didn't know.
He banged on her door, refusing to go away until she answered. Eventually she did. She stood there on the door step, looking at him. "Why are you here?" she asked in a soft voice.
"We need to talk," he said bluntly, baring in without being invited. She closed the door and he headed into the living room. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, dark and twisting shadows, dead bodies dotted about...
But it just looked like a normal apartment. There were no coffins or anything. He looked at her.
"Well?" she asked. She seemed rather tentative, almost nervous.
"Is it true?" he demanded, deciding not to beat around the bush. If he knew what he wanted he might as well get to the truth straight away.
She looked confused. "Is what true?"
He sighed with impatience. "Therina told me you're..." He still couldn't bring himself to actually say the word out loud. It sounded so ridiculous.
Chastity stared at him in utter dismay. Damn Therina fucking Blackthorn. She should have known that the bitch would spill the truth whatever chance she got. Therina wanted Seth?
Why not? He was gorgeous. What girl wouldn't want him? And he seemed nice too. She wondered what lies Therina had put in his mind. He was just staring at her, those blue eyes almost pleading her to say it wasn't true.
Chastity sighed. Why lie? She simply nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't ask for it. I wasn't given a choice."
Seth just stared at her, not sure how to react. So it was true. So she was undead. So...
They stood there in silence, looking at each other. The silver lightly thing that had been hovering around them whenever they were together was back, shimmering around them, trying to pull them together.
But both of them seemed to be resisting it. Seth sighed heavily, wondering why he had been thrown into the middle of this. He hadn't asked for this either.
"Therina's a vampire too, you know," Chastity said, sounding rather irritated. "She's no different than I am."
Seth sighed. He should have known. "So what now?"
Chastity shrugged slender shoulders. "I don't know. It all depends on you really."
Seth was annoyed. "I kind of figured that."
"Can you deal or not?"
It was a good question he didn't particularly know the answer to. He thought about it, and finally decided he just didn't know. "Give me time," he said. He left then. God, what a disaster. What ever happened to an easy life?
* * *
Chastity sighed with irritation rather than sadness watching Seth walk out the door. Damn Therina Blackthorn. She dreaded to think what crap she'd filled Seth's mind with about her. But she was right about one thing...Chastity was a vampire. Could Seth deal with that?
Hence the reason why most Night World laws were so strict...humans couldn't deal with another species better than them. She shook her head and sat down on the couch in the lounge, wondering what to do now.
She couldn't force Seth to accept her for who she was, he would have to come to terms with that on her own. But she couldn't sit around here moping forever. She needed to get off her ass and get her act together.
She wouldn't think about the possibility of losing her soulmate. No. Don't think about it. She needed to get out of here. She grabbed her purse and headed out into the falling Vegas night.
She didn't feel like the Black Iris, and settled on the coffee house she and Calista had been in the other night, the Black Orchid. Calista was sitting at one of the tables, a few books out in front of her, scribbling on a pad pf paper.
She looked up and smiled as Chastity sat down. "Decided to join the land of the living - well - sort of," she said, getting glares from a few vampires near by.
Chastity smiled faintly. "I guess," she said, not really sure what else to say. She really needed to get out more. Then maybe she wouldn't feel so tongue tied.
"What's the deal with you and Seth?" Calista asked. "He's been following you around all day like a lost puppy."
Chastity didn't know how to answer that. It was death for a human to find out about the Night World...she didn't even want to know about what the punishment for being soulmates with a human was.
"We're just friends," she answered lamely, wondering if that would be true anymore. "Except Therina's not happy about it." She made a face.
Calista raised an eyebrow. "I noticed that. Since when is Therina interested in a human, except for making him her personal slave?"
Chastity shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know, I'm not an expert." She scowled. Therina had been the reason her last relationship had been a disaster, and now she was messing up things for her with Seth as well.
"The council reps are going to be pissed if they find out about this," Calista was saying with a small smile. "They're not exactly tolerant of humans and vampires."
Chastity had forgotten about the Council. This was Vegas, after all. The Council house was somewhere on the outskirts of the city, the Daybreak mansion was here as well. There were Night People of all sorts around. Hiding here was going to be impossible.
"I mean, in the way that Therina's hanging all over Seth," Calista said quickly, amending her words. "I'm sure they won't mind being friends with him as long as you don't tell him."
"I didn't tell him anything," Chastity said, irritated. "And I don't follow the Council rules, anyway."
Calista looked a little surprised. "Oh, you're Daybreak, aren't you?"
Chastity nodded. Calista had never really struck her as Night World type before. She decided she'd keep her mouth shut about the soulmate thing with Seth. She didn't know if anything was going to end up coming out of that.
"Look at the bright side," Calista offered. "Therina's not and council laws couldn't be clearer for Night Worlders."
That brought a rueful smile to Chastity's lips. Maybe the council would think Therina was in love with Seth and kill her. She'd told too. Not allowed. But maybe if she played hero and rescued Seth from the Night World he'd see that not all vampires were monsters...
An interesting idea...
* * *
Therina tapped her long black fingernails impatiently. She had been waiting for Seth for over an hour, the jerk had never shown up. He should be hers by now. Why wasn't he? He couldn't have actually....
Nah. She'd seen his reaction, how horrified he'd been when he'd learned that Chastity was an unholy monster. Chastity herself had looked royally pissed that afternoon. It was different from her why-does-the-world-treat-me-like-shit? look, but it was still pleasing to see she was annoyed.
She looked around the Black Orchid for someone who would talk. Calista was still sitting at her table, maybe she'd talk. Therina stood up, heading over to Calista's table, sitting down without being invited.
Calista looked up from the spell book she was going through, rather annoyed. "What do you want?" she asked.
"I think there's something going on between Chastity and Seth," she said, settling for bluntness. She didn't know if Calista was a stickler for the law or not, but she could always try.
Calista's eyebrow raised. "Seth Dawson? Isn't he human?"
Therina nodded. "I've seen them around together."
Calista's lips curled slightly. "You're all over him as much as she is, so why come whining to me?"
Therina rolled her eyes. She debated for a while on how to cover herself here. "I just wanted a quick human snack that was easy," she said, her tone amused. Well, it had been true in one sense. Only Seth was cute. He'd made a good human toy to have. "But I think Chastity's digging herself into a hole here. You know what Council laws are like on the whole human/vampire thing."
She could see Calista frowning in the dim light. Maybe she was finally realising that Chastity would be in danger not just from Therina if she got hold of Seth, but from the Night World as well. And if they needed another reason to kill her, they could always add the fact that Chastity was Daybreak to the mix.
"Maybe you should kill him," Calista said slowly. "He's a danger. There's other Night People around, Chastity's better off with one of them than a human."
Therina tried not to smirk. So far she had at least managed to get Calista to see things her way. "Well, maybe you'd better talk to her about it, she doesn't seem to like me much."
Calista chuckled. "Not a lot of people do," she said dryly.
Therina was angry, but let the comment go. She didn't want to kill Calista yet, not until she was sure Seth was hers. "So you'll talk to Chastity?"
Calista sighed and nodded. "I guess."
Therina smiled. "Good." She stood up and left the club. Maybe she should have a back up plan, just in case the first one didn't work out. Backups were always a handy thing to have.
If she couldn't have Seth, no one else could either. Okay. Problem solved. She didn't really believe that Calista could talk Chastity out of whatever she had - if anything - going with Seth. But how to kill them both at the same time?
That was the question. Therina pondered how to go about the plan as she headed home in the hot Vegas afternoon. By the time she'd reached her apartment, a plan had formed in her mind.
In a very good mood, she picked up the phone.
* * *
Chastity with all her wonderful golden blonde innocence...she couldn't be...a...a...
~Vampire~ he thought miserably, ~Say it.~
He headed to Chastity's apartment, determined to make her talk to him. He needed to know, and he wanted the information coming from her, not from someone else. She could tell him the truth.
But even if it turned out to be true, would it even matter? But...she drank *blood*. If it were true. What if she fed on him? Or killed him?
Chastity wouldn't...
Would she? He didn't know her that well really. Was this soulmate thing really enough to tie him to someone who was a walking corpse, even if she was gorgeous? He didn't know.
He banged on her door, refusing to go away until she answered. Eventually she did. She stood there on the door step, looking at him. "Why are you here?" she asked in a soft voice.
"We need to talk," he said bluntly, baring in without being invited. She closed the door and he headed into the living room. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, dark and twisting shadows, dead bodies dotted about...
But it just looked like a normal apartment. There were no coffins or anything. He looked at her.
"Well?" she asked. She seemed rather tentative, almost nervous.
"Is it true?" he demanded, deciding not to beat around the bush. If he knew what he wanted he might as well get to the truth straight away.
She looked confused. "Is what true?"
He sighed with impatience. "Therina told me you're..." He still couldn't bring himself to actually say the word out loud. It sounded so ridiculous.
Chastity stared at him in utter dismay. Damn Therina fucking Blackthorn. She should have known that the bitch would spill the truth whatever chance she got. Therina wanted Seth?
Why not? He was gorgeous. What girl wouldn't want him? And he seemed nice too. She wondered what lies Therina had put in his mind. He was just staring at her, those blue eyes almost pleading her to say it wasn't true.
Chastity sighed. Why lie? She simply nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't ask for it. I wasn't given a choice."
Seth just stared at her, not sure how to react. So it was true. So she was undead. So...
They stood there in silence, looking at each other. The silver lightly thing that had been hovering around them whenever they were together was back, shimmering around them, trying to pull them together.
But both of them seemed to be resisting it. Seth sighed heavily, wondering why he had been thrown into the middle of this. He hadn't asked for this either.
"Therina's a vampire too, you know," Chastity said, sounding rather irritated. "She's no different than I am."
Seth sighed. He should have known. "So what now?"
Chastity shrugged slender shoulders. "I don't know. It all depends on you really."
Seth was annoyed. "I kind of figured that."
"Can you deal or not?"
It was a good question he didn't particularly know the answer to. He thought about it, and finally decided he just didn't know. "Give me time," he said. He left then. God, what a disaster. What ever happened to an easy life?
* * *
Chastity sighed with irritation rather than sadness watching Seth walk out the door. Damn Therina Blackthorn. She dreaded to think what crap she'd filled Seth's mind with about her. But she was right about one thing...Chastity was a vampire. Could Seth deal with that?
Hence the reason why most Night World laws were so strict...humans couldn't deal with another species better than them. She shook her head and sat down on the couch in the lounge, wondering what to do now.
She couldn't force Seth to accept her for who she was, he would have to come to terms with that on her own. But she couldn't sit around here moping forever. She needed to get off her ass and get her act together.
She wouldn't think about the possibility of losing her soulmate. No. Don't think about it. She needed to get out of here. She grabbed her purse and headed out into the falling Vegas night.
She didn't feel like the Black Iris, and settled on the coffee house she and Calista had been in the other night, the Black Orchid. Calista was sitting at one of the tables, a few books out in front of her, scribbling on a pad pf paper.
She looked up and smiled as Chastity sat down. "Decided to join the land of the living - well - sort of," she said, getting glares from a few vampires near by.
Chastity smiled faintly. "I guess," she said, not really sure what else to say. She really needed to get out more. Then maybe she wouldn't feel so tongue tied.
"What's the deal with you and Seth?" Calista asked. "He's been following you around all day like a lost puppy."
Chastity didn't know how to answer that. It was death for a human to find out about the Night World...she didn't even want to know about what the punishment for being soulmates with a human was.
"We're just friends," she answered lamely, wondering if that would be true anymore. "Except Therina's not happy about it." She made a face.
Calista raised an eyebrow. "I noticed that. Since when is Therina interested in a human, except for making him her personal slave?"
Chastity shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know, I'm not an expert." She scowled. Therina had been the reason her last relationship had been a disaster, and now she was messing up things for her with Seth as well.
"The council reps are going to be pissed if they find out about this," Calista was saying with a small smile. "They're not exactly tolerant of humans and vampires."
Chastity had forgotten about the Council. This was Vegas, after all. The Council house was somewhere on the outskirts of the city, the Daybreak mansion was here as well. There were Night People of all sorts around. Hiding here was going to be impossible.
"I mean, in the way that Therina's hanging all over Seth," Calista said quickly, amending her words. "I'm sure they won't mind being friends with him as long as you don't tell him."
"I didn't tell him anything," Chastity said, irritated. "And I don't follow the Council rules, anyway."
Calista looked a little surprised. "Oh, you're Daybreak, aren't you?"
Chastity nodded. Calista had never really struck her as Night World type before. She decided she'd keep her mouth shut about the soulmate thing with Seth. She didn't know if anything was going to end up coming out of that.
"Look at the bright side," Calista offered. "Therina's not and council laws couldn't be clearer for Night Worlders."
That brought a rueful smile to Chastity's lips. Maybe the council would think Therina was in love with Seth and kill her. She'd told too. Not allowed. But maybe if she played hero and rescued Seth from the Night World he'd see that not all vampires were monsters...
An interesting idea...
* * *
Therina tapped her long black fingernails impatiently. She had been waiting for Seth for over an hour, the jerk had never shown up. He should be hers by now. Why wasn't he? He couldn't have actually....
Nah. She'd seen his reaction, how horrified he'd been when he'd learned that Chastity was an unholy monster. Chastity herself had looked royally pissed that afternoon. It was different from her why-does-the-world-treat-me-like-shit? look, but it was still pleasing to see she was annoyed.
She looked around the Black Orchid for someone who would talk. Calista was still sitting at her table, maybe she'd talk. Therina stood up, heading over to Calista's table, sitting down without being invited.
Calista looked up from the spell book she was going through, rather annoyed. "What do you want?" she asked.
"I think there's something going on between Chastity and Seth," she said, settling for bluntness. She didn't know if Calista was a stickler for the law or not, but she could always try.
Calista's eyebrow raised. "Seth Dawson? Isn't he human?"
Therina nodded. "I've seen them around together."
Calista's lips curled slightly. "You're all over him as much as she is, so why come whining to me?"
Therina rolled her eyes. She debated for a while on how to cover herself here. "I just wanted a quick human snack that was easy," she said, her tone amused. Well, it had been true in one sense. Only Seth was cute. He'd made a good human toy to have. "But I think Chastity's digging herself into a hole here. You know what Council laws are like on the whole human/vampire thing."
She could see Calista frowning in the dim light. Maybe she was finally realising that Chastity would be in danger not just from Therina if she got hold of Seth, but from the Night World as well. And if they needed another reason to kill her, they could always add the fact that Chastity was Daybreak to the mix.
"Maybe you should kill him," Calista said slowly. "He's a danger. There's other Night People around, Chastity's better off with one of them than a human."
Therina tried not to smirk. So far she had at least managed to get Calista to see things her way. "Well, maybe you'd better talk to her about it, she doesn't seem to like me much."
Calista chuckled. "Not a lot of people do," she said dryly.
Therina was angry, but let the comment go. She didn't want to kill Calista yet, not until she was sure Seth was hers. "So you'll talk to Chastity?"
Calista sighed and nodded. "I guess."
Therina smiled. "Good." She stood up and left the club. Maybe she should have a back up plan, just in case the first one didn't work out. Backups were always a handy thing to have.
If she couldn't have Seth, no one else could either. Okay. Problem solved. She didn't really believe that Calista could talk Chastity out of whatever she had - if anything - going with Seth. But how to kill them both at the same time?
That was the question. Therina pondered how to go about the plan as she headed home in the hot Vegas afternoon. By the time she'd reached her apartment, a plan had formed in her mind.
In a very good mood, she picked up the phone.
* * *