Runa was unhappy. She just couldn't understand the change in Sydney. The girl had always had a taste for darkness, and now she belonged to it completely. Hell, she was even sleeping with Magnus Blackthorn. She had never known Sydney to be bad before, but Sydney was not only bad now...she was worse.
"This is all your fault," she snapped at Jesse, who sat with her and Falcon at the local Black Iris.
"Why my fault?" Jesse asked, blowing out on a cigarette.
"You bit her. If you hadn't then none of this would be happening." Runa took a large swig of her Vodka Martini. She shook her head in anger. It was all Jesse's fault, cause he was such an arrogant bastard.
"So she killed one or two people, give her a break," Jesse said, smiling a little ignoring her comments.
Runa didn't say anything. Sydney had killed more than "one or two people." She was a walking nightmare.
"This probably isn't the best time to mention this, but I heard Circle Daybreak have a hit out on Sydney and Marius and the rest of their gang," Falcon said.
Runa turned to look at her. "Oh great," she muttered. What had happened to Sydney was partly her fault, so Runa felt kind of responsible for her cousin's actions. "I guess I should tell her."
* * *
Sydney smiled, dropping the body in a Dumpster. She was really getting the hang of this. Magnus of course, was teaching her all the tricks of the trade, and another trade too, she thought, a dreamy smile. He was incredibly sexy.
"Sydney?"
Sydney frowned, turning to see Runa standing at the edge of the alley way. "What are you doing here?"
"I have some news." Runa looked almost nervous, which made Sydney smile.
"What?" she asked.
"Circle Daybreak have an assassin after you."
"Oh." The news didn't surprise her that much. Magnus had already mentioned something about this to her, but he had told her not to worry about it.
Runa was looking at her, seeming surprised.
Sydney smiled faintly again. "What?"
Runa shook her head. "I don't know. I guess I expected more of a reaction."
Sydney laughed, the harsh sound cutting into the night. "You expected me to be scared? Please. Daybreak don't scare me. Go away Runa."
Runa went away. A Daybreak assassin. Ooh, scary. No problem. They'd find out who and take care of them. Right?
* * *
He watched the girl from the shadows. She had been human once. Seeing her now was hard to believe. Hell, he had even liked Sydney. Unfortunately, she'd changed and become a murdering bitch.
Arwan stood in the shadows of the dark alley way, watching Sydney and her new boyfriend, all over each other. Sydney left, blending into the darkness.
Gripping his stake Arwan moved forward, plunging it into the guy's heart. He gibbered uselessly before his skin started collapsing in on itself and he turned into a bag of old bones.
Arwan smirked. One down, three to go. He whistled cheerfully, in a very good mood. Scum. Monsters. They all deserved to die.
* * *
The next evening Sydney was bored. She stared out the window of her house, gazing into the night. She hadn't seen Magnus all day, and he didn't answer his phone when she tried to call him. Kissa hadn't been at school either. Neither had Lapiz for that matter.
But they were Night People. Why did they need to bother with stupid human school?
Hunger was starting to stir inside her. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She decide to call at Lapiz's and Kissa's apartment. Maybe she could convince them to come to the Black Iris with her or something.
She headed over to their building, heading into the apartment without being invited. Lapiz was running around, red hair flying, throwing clothes into suitcases.
Sydney smiled, amused. "Where are you going?"
Lapiz looked at her, her eyes wide with fear. "Didn't you hear?" she asked.
Sydney's head tilted. "Hear what?"
"Kissa and Magnus are *dead*. A vampire hunter got them." Lapiz slammed her suitcase shut, and grabbed her keys. "I'm getting the hell out of here. You should too." And she was gone.
Sydney frowned. She wasn't going to run. She was going to fight this jerk.
* * *
Runa didn't even know why she was bothering anymore. She had tried to warn Sydney about the vampire hunter, Magnus and Kissa were actually *dead* and there was a rumour going round that Lapiz had run off in fear.
And yet Sydney wasn't moving. She just eyed Runa with contempt when she even suggested it.
"But if this guy can get *Magnus* for God's sake..." Runa said.
She and Sydney were sitting in the Black Iris, and Runa was desperately trying to convince her cousin to get out of town and not suffer the same fate.
Sydney snorted. "God has nothing to do with this," she said in disgust. "Hell, if things like us exist, what even makes you think there is a God?"
Runa sighed, not really in the mood for a theological conversation. Although Sydney did have a point. "The point is..."
"The point is, this conversation is a waste of time," Sydney snapped. "I appreciate the concern, but a vampire hunter doesn't scare me. Why should I run? That's the equivalent of giving in."
Runa sighed again. She should have known better, but had felt maybe it was worth a shot. She had turned her cousin into a monster, but at least a monster with some courage. Sydney stood up then, making as if to leave.
"Where are you going?" she demanded.
Sydney glanced back at her. "To fight this vampire hunter, where else?" And with that she left.
* * *
Arwan broke into Sydney's apartment easily. For a vampire, the girl wasn't very smart really. Most would have been sensible enough to at least ward their houses or have a witch do it for them. But this place had no guards of any sort.
It was sheathed in darkness, and he knew she wasn't home. He found her room and waited.
* * *
The minute Sydney got home she knew she wasn't alone. The lock on the front door was broken, and the doorknob spun uselessly in her hand. Well, well. It looked like she had some company.
She headed up to her room to find it occupied. The vampire hunter stood there, dressed in black from head to doe, the only part of his face showing his mouth and bright blue eyes.
She folded her arms and stood there. "I know why you're here. Let's get this over with."
He smiled faintly, pulling out a stake. "My pleasure." And he ran at her.
* * *
Sydney snorted in disgust, simply moving out of the way as the guy charged at her. She shook her head in amusement. Humans could be so predictable sometimes.
She grabbed his wrist flipped him over, sending him crashing to the floor with a bone-shattering crunch. She knelt on top of him, her knees digging into his lungs. She smiled, feeling her fangs extend. She pulled off the ski mask, revealing a reasonably cute face, nice blue eyes, messy blond hair.
"Arwan? Since when were you a vampire hunter?" she asked, slightly surprised. She recognised the guy from her science class in school. He sat at the back and hardly ever opened his mouth. They had worked on a few projects together.
He shrugged. "I've always been Daybreak," he said.
Sydney shook her head. "What a waste." And she sank her teeth into his neck.
But instead of a warm rush of tingling heat from blood flowing into her mouth her mind felt like it exploded from within. Her nerves felt as if they were being frazzled, a white light was growing, trying to pull her closer to him, mentally rather than physically.
Before she knew what was happening images and pictures were flashing through her mind, feelings she didn't understand. Wonder, surprise, longing...
Then she realised what was strange. These were *his* memories, *his* feelings. And she wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew that while she was inside his mind, he was in hers.
~What the hell is this?~ she asked.
~It's called the Soulmate principle~ he answered, seeming a little baffled. ~It's the idea that there's one and only one true love for everyone on earth and when you meet that person you know they were the one you're meant to be with forever. And...well...~
~How do we *stop* it~? Sydney asked.
~Do we have to? It's really not so bad...~
Sydney shook her head, and took her fangs out his neck. At the same time, the white light faded, and she found herself in her darkened bedroom, still kneeling on top of him. She moved off him slowly. He sat up.
"So now what?" she asked. "Are you still going to kill me?"
Arwan studied her for several minutes. She was his soulmate, his one and only, and he was supposed to kill her. But could he do that? It wasn't her fault she had become a monster. That was someone else's fault.
Finally he shook his head. "No," he said. "Daybreak will understand. They'll help you readjust."
Sydney stared at him in utter horror. Not shocked by the idea that he wasn't going to kill her anymore, after the discovery of a soulmate connection, that was pretty much a given. But what shocked her was the idea he actually expected her to join *Daybreak.*
Runa had told her about it, and to Sydney, it sounded too stupidly idealistic for her. Not the type of place she wanted to end up in. She looked at him and folded her arms. "Fuck Daybreak," she said bluntly. "Why does everyone always have to live happily ever after there? Why can't you join the Night World and live happily ever after in the darkness?"
Arwan stared at her. Was she *kidding?* "Because Night World are evil," he said flatly.
Sydney sighed. Men. They were impossible. "Look, that's what I thought, up until I learned the good side of being bad." She smiled. "Try it, maybe you'll like it."
Arwan stared at her. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he realised he would never be the same without her, so why not? "Okay."
Sydney stared at him in surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to agree. She grabbed the front of his jacket, pulled him close and kissed him. The white light and sparks of the soulmate connection weren't so shocking and painful this time, and in fact, rather pleasant. Then an idea struck her. "Wait here, I have to make a phone call."
Arwan stared after her, wondering where she was going and who she was calling. He was guessing if he was planning on joining Night World he couldn't really stay human. As far as he knew you couldn't just go changing people without permission. He vaguely wondered what being a vampire was like. When Sydney came back with a huge grin on her face, he guessed he was going to find out.
Sydney smirked, feeling in a really good mood. She pulled him to his feet. "Come on," she said.
He allowed her to pull him up. "Now where are we going?"
She grinned. "We're going to have fun."
She took his hand and they walked out together into the night.
THE END.
"This is all your fault," she snapped at Jesse, who sat with her and Falcon at the local Black Iris.
"Why my fault?" Jesse asked, blowing out on a cigarette.
"You bit her. If you hadn't then none of this would be happening." Runa took a large swig of her Vodka Martini. She shook her head in anger. It was all Jesse's fault, cause he was such an arrogant bastard.
"So she killed one or two people, give her a break," Jesse said, smiling a little ignoring her comments.
Runa didn't say anything. Sydney had killed more than "one or two people." She was a walking nightmare.
"This probably isn't the best time to mention this, but I heard Circle Daybreak have a hit out on Sydney and Marius and the rest of their gang," Falcon said.
Runa turned to look at her. "Oh great," she muttered. What had happened to Sydney was partly her fault, so Runa felt kind of responsible for her cousin's actions. "I guess I should tell her."
* * *
Sydney smiled, dropping the body in a Dumpster. She was really getting the hang of this. Magnus of course, was teaching her all the tricks of the trade, and another trade too, she thought, a dreamy smile. He was incredibly sexy.
"Sydney?"
Sydney frowned, turning to see Runa standing at the edge of the alley way. "What are you doing here?"
"I have some news." Runa looked almost nervous, which made Sydney smile.
"What?" she asked.
"Circle Daybreak have an assassin after you."
"Oh." The news didn't surprise her that much. Magnus had already mentioned something about this to her, but he had told her not to worry about it.
Runa was looking at her, seeming surprised.
Sydney smiled faintly again. "What?"
Runa shook her head. "I don't know. I guess I expected more of a reaction."
Sydney laughed, the harsh sound cutting into the night. "You expected me to be scared? Please. Daybreak don't scare me. Go away Runa."
Runa went away. A Daybreak assassin. Ooh, scary. No problem. They'd find out who and take care of them. Right?
* * *
He watched the girl from the shadows. She had been human once. Seeing her now was hard to believe. Hell, he had even liked Sydney. Unfortunately, she'd changed and become a murdering bitch.
Arwan stood in the shadows of the dark alley way, watching Sydney and her new boyfriend, all over each other. Sydney left, blending into the darkness.
Gripping his stake Arwan moved forward, plunging it into the guy's heart. He gibbered uselessly before his skin started collapsing in on itself and he turned into a bag of old bones.
Arwan smirked. One down, three to go. He whistled cheerfully, in a very good mood. Scum. Monsters. They all deserved to die.
* * *
The next evening Sydney was bored. She stared out the window of her house, gazing into the night. She hadn't seen Magnus all day, and he didn't answer his phone when she tried to call him. Kissa hadn't been at school either. Neither had Lapiz for that matter.
But they were Night People. Why did they need to bother with stupid human school?
Hunger was starting to stir inside her. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She decide to call at Lapiz's and Kissa's apartment. Maybe she could convince them to come to the Black Iris with her or something.
She headed over to their building, heading into the apartment without being invited. Lapiz was running around, red hair flying, throwing clothes into suitcases.
Sydney smiled, amused. "Where are you going?"
Lapiz looked at her, her eyes wide with fear. "Didn't you hear?" she asked.
Sydney's head tilted. "Hear what?"
"Kissa and Magnus are *dead*. A vampire hunter got them." Lapiz slammed her suitcase shut, and grabbed her keys. "I'm getting the hell out of here. You should too." And she was gone.
Sydney frowned. She wasn't going to run. She was going to fight this jerk.
* * *
Runa didn't even know why she was bothering anymore. She had tried to warn Sydney about the vampire hunter, Magnus and Kissa were actually *dead* and there was a rumour going round that Lapiz had run off in fear.
And yet Sydney wasn't moving. She just eyed Runa with contempt when she even suggested it.
"But if this guy can get *Magnus* for God's sake..." Runa said.
She and Sydney were sitting in the Black Iris, and Runa was desperately trying to convince her cousin to get out of town and not suffer the same fate.
Sydney snorted. "God has nothing to do with this," she said in disgust. "Hell, if things like us exist, what even makes you think there is a God?"
Runa sighed, not really in the mood for a theological conversation. Although Sydney did have a point. "The point is..."
"The point is, this conversation is a waste of time," Sydney snapped. "I appreciate the concern, but a vampire hunter doesn't scare me. Why should I run? That's the equivalent of giving in."
Runa sighed again. She should have known better, but had felt maybe it was worth a shot. She had turned her cousin into a monster, but at least a monster with some courage. Sydney stood up then, making as if to leave.
"Where are you going?" she demanded.
Sydney glanced back at her. "To fight this vampire hunter, where else?" And with that she left.
* * *
Arwan broke into Sydney's apartment easily. For a vampire, the girl wasn't very smart really. Most would have been sensible enough to at least ward their houses or have a witch do it for them. But this place had no guards of any sort.
It was sheathed in darkness, and he knew she wasn't home. He found her room and waited.
* * *
The minute Sydney got home she knew she wasn't alone. The lock on the front door was broken, and the doorknob spun uselessly in her hand. Well, well. It looked like she had some company.
She headed up to her room to find it occupied. The vampire hunter stood there, dressed in black from head to doe, the only part of his face showing his mouth and bright blue eyes.
She folded her arms and stood there. "I know why you're here. Let's get this over with."
He smiled faintly, pulling out a stake. "My pleasure." And he ran at her.
* * *
Sydney snorted in disgust, simply moving out of the way as the guy charged at her. She shook her head in amusement. Humans could be so predictable sometimes.
She grabbed his wrist flipped him over, sending him crashing to the floor with a bone-shattering crunch. She knelt on top of him, her knees digging into his lungs. She smiled, feeling her fangs extend. She pulled off the ski mask, revealing a reasonably cute face, nice blue eyes, messy blond hair.
"Arwan? Since when were you a vampire hunter?" she asked, slightly surprised. She recognised the guy from her science class in school. He sat at the back and hardly ever opened his mouth. They had worked on a few projects together.
He shrugged. "I've always been Daybreak," he said.
Sydney shook her head. "What a waste." And she sank her teeth into his neck.
But instead of a warm rush of tingling heat from blood flowing into her mouth her mind felt like it exploded from within. Her nerves felt as if they were being frazzled, a white light was growing, trying to pull her closer to him, mentally rather than physically.
Before she knew what was happening images and pictures were flashing through her mind, feelings she didn't understand. Wonder, surprise, longing...
Then she realised what was strange. These were *his* memories, *his* feelings. And she wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew that while she was inside his mind, he was in hers.
~What the hell is this?~ she asked.
~It's called the Soulmate principle~ he answered, seeming a little baffled. ~It's the idea that there's one and only one true love for everyone on earth and when you meet that person you know they were the one you're meant to be with forever. And...well...~
~How do we *stop* it~? Sydney asked.
~Do we have to? It's really not so bad...~
Sydney shook her head, and took her fangs out his neck. At the same time, the white light faded, and she found herself in her darkened bedroom, still kneeling on top of him. She moved off him slowly. He sat up.
"So now what?" she asked. "Are you still going to kill me?"
Arwan studied her for several minutes. She was his soulmate, his one and only, and he was supposed to kill her. But could he do that? It wasn't her fault she had become a monster. That was someone else's fault.
Finally he shook his head. "No," he said. "Daybreak will understand. They'll help you readjust."
Sydney stared at him in utter horror. Not shocked by the idea that he wasn't going to kill her anymore, after the discovery of a soulmate connection, that was pretty much a given. But what shocked her was the idea he actually expected her to join *Daybreak.*
Runa had told her about it, and to Sydney, it sounded too stupidly idealistic for her. Not the type of place she wanted to end up in. She looked at him and folded her arms. "Fuck Daybreak," she said bluntly. "Why does everyone always have to live happily ever after there? Why can't you join the Night World and live happily ever after in the darkness?"
Arwan stared at her. Was she *kidding?* "Because Night World are evil," he said flatly.
Sydney sighed. Men. They were impossible. "Look, that's what I thought, up until I learned the good side of being bad." She smiled. "Try it, maybe you'll like it."
Arwan stared at her. After thinking about it for a few minutes, he realised he would never be the same without her, so why not? "Okay."
Sydney stared at him in surprise. She hadn't actually expected him to agree. She grabbed the front of his jacket, pulled him close and kissed him. The white light and sparks of the soulmate connection weren't so shocking and painful this time, and in fact, rather pleasant. Then an idea struck her. "Wait here, I have to make a phone call."
Arwan stared after her, wondering where she was going and who she was calling. He was guessing if he was planning on joining Night World he couldn't really stay human. As far as he knew you couldn't just go changing people without permission. He vaguely wondered what being a vampire was like. When Sydney came back with a huge grin on her face, he guessed he was going to find out.
Sydney smirked, feeling in a really good mood. She pulled him to his feet. "Come on," she said.
He allowed her to pull him up. "Now where are we going?"
She grinned. "We're going to have fun."
She took his hand and they walked out together into the night.
THE END.