Crystal just stood there unsure what to say. Frankenstein's monster wasn't armed with a semi-automatic, she thought irrationally. She stared at Aurelia, who stared coldly back at her, blue eyes like chips of ice.
After thinking about it, she realised that they had no choice but to go with Aurelia. The group trudged silently down the halls to a white U-Haul van outside, where they were locked in the back. Crystal wondered vaguely about trying to undo the locks. But she wasn't that sure of herself yet.
"How could you create someone like *her*?" Poppy asked.
Aurelia sat in the van with them, the semi automatic resting in her lap. She just shrugged. "Don't blame me. It's not my fault I'm a bitch. It's hers." She nodded over at Crystal, who flushed, a little embarrassed.
"I was tired of creating lovey-dovey characters who all end up with their soulmates and live happily ever after in Daybreak, so I created a bad one," she admitted finally.
"Two bad ones," Mary-Lynnette pointed out. "Don't forget Susan."
"Explain this to me," Aurelia demanded. "How the hell is everyone who's here, here, if none of us are real people? How do we know this reality and not some sort of time-warp where everyone's fantasies come true?"
Crystal opened her mouth, but found herself just exchanging shrugs with the others. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not doing it."
"So where are we going now?" James asked.
"What do we have to do with this?" Ash put in, glaring at Crystal. "If you want to kill her, kill her and not us."
"Thanks a lot!" Crystal snorted.
"She's *your* fault," Ash pointed out, nodding at Aurelia, who glared at him equally pissed off.
Crystal didn't know what to say. Ash had a point. For once. Crystal found herself wondering if Jenny and Tom had realised Julian was wandering around campus yet. She dreaded to think what would happen now she'd set him free to interact on earth.
The van came to a stop and they were herded out like cattle. With Night Worlders pointing guns at them all there wasn't much else they could do. Crystal could feel the heat of the other's gaze on her. She couldn't really complain because Ash was absolutely right. Aurelia was her creation. But a creation she had been *proud* of.
They were led into a forbidding looking mansion, all dark and twisting and very cliché. It was what she had always imagined Night World headquarters would look like. Everything was dark and shadowy and colourless.
They were marched into a conference room where a group of people sat around a table. Some of them she recognised, she had created a few Night World council leaders. Some she didn't recognise.
"What happens in the end of Night World?" one of them asked bluntly. "Do we survive?
Crystal just shrugged. She didn't know. She had always assumed that the book would have a happy ending, all the soulmate couples would be together and everyone would live happily ever after. She would have liked to see what would happen if the Night World won, but it seemed unlikely. Night World stories had a tradition for a happy ending.
"I don't know," she answered. "The final Night World book, Strange Fate, hasn't been written yet."
"We've tried contacting the author, of course," someone else said. "But she seems impossible to find."
"Why don't you just make Crystal write the damn book herself?" James suggested.
Crystal stared at him in disbelief. "I can't do that!" she protested.
There were mutterings amongst the council. "Why are they here?" she asked, nodding over to her friends.
"We wanted to see some people from the books just to make sure what was going on, and it seems like they were the easiest ones to find," she was answered.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence someone stood up and gestured for Crystal to follow. Crystal frowned, not liking where this person was leading her. She was led into a small room with no windows. The only furniture was a desk and a chair. She was made to sit in the chair and wait.
She drummed impatient nails and waited, trying to ignore the pit of fear starting to grow in her stomach. She couldn't do this. There was no way she could actually *write* a Night World novel. What if she did it wrong? How would that change everything? To make the book real it would have to be read by millions of people, like all the others had. How did the council plan on doing that?
The council rep came back with a lap top computer and several bottles of water and a glass. The computer was set up before her.
"Get started," she was ordered. And left alone. She heard a key turn in the lock.
She knew the basic plot line of Strange Fate. She'd had several ideas for her own version of it, but had never actually gotten round to writing them down. But now it looked like she had no choice.
She sat at the computer, staring blankly at the screen, trying to think.
An idea sparked, and she started to write.
* * *
The entire book itself must have taken a day to complete. Crystal was very proud of herself when she'd finally finished. The Night World told her they'd take care of things after that. She was led back to a cell containing Poppy, James, Ash and Mary-Lynnette.
"Did you write the book?" James asked.
Crystal tried not to smile smugly. "I did," she said.
"What'd you write about?" Ash asked.
This time Crystal couldn't help her little smirk. "Wait and see," she said.
* * *
"This is driving me crazy!" Ash complained for about the hundredth time.
Crystal sighed heavily. "You already are crazy," she muttered under her breath.
Of course, with enhanced vampire hearing, Ash heard. "This is all your fault," he snapped at her.
"It is not!" Crystal protested. "I didn't create the Night World or the council."
"Knock it off," Mary-Lynnette said. Annoyed. "You two have been bickering like kids."
"Its not my fault he's a pain in the ass," Crystal muttered, not caring if Ash heard or not. He opened his mouth to retaliate. Mary-Lynnette groaned and kicked him.
"Maybe you could write a book where girls stop kicking me," Ash said, reaching down to rub his ankle.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Poppy asked, trying not to grin.
"Come on, at least give us a hint of what you wrote about," James said.
Crystal just smiled smugly. She wondered how long it would take for everything to happen. Had the hook hit the shelves yet? Were millions of people reading the final Night World book? The waiting was annoying.
But only she knew what happened in the end. It was going to be worth the wait.
* * *
After thinking about it, she realised that they had no choice but to go with Aurelia. The group trudged silently down the halls to a white U-Haul van outside, where they were locked in the back. Crystal wondered vaguely about trying to undo the locks. But she wasn't that sure of herself yet.
"How could you create someone like *her*?" Poppy asked.
Aurelia sat in the van with them, the semi automatic resting in her lap. She just shrugged. "Don't blame me. It's not my fault I'm a bitch. It's hers." She nodded over at Crystal, who flushed, a little embarrassed.
"I was tired of creating lovey-dovey characters who all end up with their soulmates and live happily ever after in Daybreak, so I created a bad one," she admitted finally.
"Two bad ones," Mary-Lynnette pointed out. "Don't forget Susan."
"Explain this to me," Aurelia demanded. "How the hell is everyone who's here, here, if none of us are real people? How do we know this reality and not some sort of time-warp where everyone's fantasies come true?"
Crystal opened her mouth, but found herself just exchanging shrugs with the others. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not doing it."
"So where are we going now?" James asked.
"What do we have to do with this?" Ash put in, glaring at Crystal. "If you want to kill her, kill her and not us."
"Thanks a lot!" Crystal snorted.
"She's *your* fault," Ash pointed out, nodding at Aurelia, who glared at him equally pissed off.
Crystal didn't know what to say. Ash had a point. For once. Crystal found herself wondering if Jenny and Tom had realised Julian was wandering around campus yet. She dreaded to think what would happen now she'd set him free to interact on earth.
The van came to a stop and they were herded out like cattle. With Night Worlders pointing guns at them all there wasn't much else they could do. Crystal could feel the heat of the other's gaze on her. She couldn't really complain because Ash was absolutely right. Aurelia was her creation. But a creation she had been *proud* of.
They were led into a forbidding looking mansion, all dark and twisting and very cliché. It was what she had always imagined Night World headquarters would look like. Everything was dark and shadowy and colourless.
They were marched into a conference room where a group of people sat around a table. Some of them she recognised, she had created a few Night World council leaders. Some she didn't recognise.
"What happens in the end of Night World?" one of them asked bluntly. "Do we survive?
Crystal just shrugged. She didn't know. She had always assumed that the book would have a happy ending, all the soulmate couples would be together and everyone would live happily ever after. She would have liked to see what would happen if the Night World won, but it seemed unlikely. Night World stories had a tradition for a happy ending.
"I don't know," she answered. "The final Night World book, Strange Fate, hasn't been written yet."
"We've tried contacting the author, of course," someone else said. "But she seems impossible to find."
"Why don't you just make Crystal write the damn book herself?" James suggested.
Crystal stared at him in disbelief. "I can't do that!" she protested.
There were mutterings amongst the council. "Why are they here?" she asked, nodding over to her friends.
"We wanted to see some people from the books just to make sure what was going on, and it seems like they were the easiest ones to find," she was answered.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence someone stood up and gestured for Crystal to follow. Crystal frowned, not liking where this person was leading her. She was led into a small room with no windows. The only furniture was a desk and a chair. She was made to sit in the chair and wait.
She drummed impatient nails and waited, trying to ignore the pit of fear starting to grow in her stomach. She couldn't do this. There was no way she could actually *write* a Night World novel. What if she did it wrong? How would that change everything? To make the book real it would have to be read by millions of people, like all the others had. How did the council plan on doing that?
The council rep came back with a lap top computer and several bottles of water and a glass. The computer was set up before her.
"Get started," she was ordered. And left alone. She heard a key turn in the lock.
She knew the basic plot line of Strange Fate. She'd had several ideas for her own version of it, but had never actually gotten round to writing them down. But now it looked like she had no choice.
She sat at the computer, staring blankly at the screen, trying to think.
An idea sparked, and she started to write.
* * *
The entire book itself must have taken a day to complete. Crystal was very proud of herself when she'd finally finished. The Night World told her they'd take care of things after that. She was led back to a cell containing Poppy, James, Ash and Mary-Lynnette.
"Did you write the book?" James asked.
Crystal tried not to smile smugly. "I did," she said.
"What'd you write about?" Ash asked.
This time Crystal couldn't help her little smirk. "Wait and see," she said.
* * *
"This is driving me crazy!" Ash complained for about the hundredth time.
Crystal sighed heavily. "You already are crazy," she muttered under her breath.
Of course, with enhanced vampire hearing, Ash heard. "This is all your fault," he snapped at her.
"It is not!" Crystal protested. "I didn't create the Night World or the council."
"Knock it off," Mary-Lynnette said. Annoyed. "You two have been bickering like kids."
"Its not my fault he's a pain in the ass," Crystal muttered, not caring if Ash heard or not. He opened his mouth to retaliate. Mary-Lynnette groaned and kicked him.
"Maybe you could write a book where girls stop kicking me," Ash said, reaching down to rub his ankle.
"Now where's the fun in that?" Poppy asked, trying not to grin.
"Come on, at least give us a hint of what you wrote about," James said.
Crystal just smiled smugly. She wondered how long it would take for everything to happen. Had the hook hit the shelves yet? Were millions of people reading the final Night World book? The waiting was annoying.
But only she knew what happened in the end. It was going to be worth the wait.
* * *