Part 2
12 years later...
Wind was raging, rain falling in sheets, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The alley was dark and cold, but Tania knew he'd show up sooner or later. She heard a noise behind her, and whirled round, plunging her stake into the heart of the monster who tried to sneak up on her. Leech.
She smiled, watching the monster jabbering uselessly, the light going out its animal eyes. Within minutes, the vampire skin was going yellow and leathery, peeling away from the flesh, leaving a sac of old bones there. She stepped over the corpse, leaving it where it was.
What to do now...
Tania made her way out the alley. The small island of Moon Bay was quiet. Being after midnight and a school night, most of the kids were in bed. She didn't see anyone she knew as she wandered down the dark, deserted streets, eyes peeled for signs of Night People. There seemed to be a large proportion of them in the town, and so few hunters, like herself.
Monsters. All of them. They were the ones who had killed her parents. It had taken her a long time to finally learn the truth about what happened, what her adopted family really were. Of course, they had no idea about Tania's little "hobby". As far as they were aware, Tania didn't know anything about Night World.
Or that she was a damned Daybreaker. What would they do if they found out? All she needed to do was make sure she kept the secret from blabbermouth Phoenix, who was home after graduating from college. She was supposed to be looking for a place of her own, but never seemed to get round to it. Her friend Stacia had come to stay, and they lounged around all day like spoiled cats.
A walk around the entire island took less than hour. Tania checked the park, the junior high, the elementary, the high school. No vampires, no shifters. Nothing. She had to admit, she felt a little disappointed.
After finishing, she went home, sneaking back in the house through the back way. She dreaded to think what her foster parents would think if they caught her coming in this hour. She pulled out a small book with a hardback cover, jotting inside her findings. She always liked to keep records of her work. She had records of things she'd found, monsters, what they were capable of, kills, a whole database.
She called her CD contact, a werewolf called Kyara. "Hey, it's Tania," she said, as soon as the other girl answered.
"Anything good to report?"
"Nothing," Tania's said, rather gloomily. "Except for one vampire kill. That's it."
Kyara chuckled. "You sound almost disappointed."
"I don't know," Tania admitted. "It's weird. Where are they all?"
"Who knows?"
"Well maybe it's something we should find out," Tania said. It seemed as if the Night People were up to something. It was December, the hunt was on for the final Wild Power, it all depended on which side got him - or her. So far, no one even knew who it was.
"You do that," Kyara said. "You need any help, call us."
"Sure. Bye." Tania hung up. She walked over to the large window and sat on the upholstered window seat looking out. The sky was black, stretching out for miles and miles above the manicured landscape of her family's mansion.
Was there something going on with the town's Night People? It was up to her to find out.
* * *
Part 3
"Tania! Get the damn door!" Phoenix's voice called out from upstairs.
Tania sighed, ignoring her, continuing flipping through the channels of the large, cinema size TV in the lounge. Phoenix and Stacia had been hogging it all day, as if they had nothing else to do. Tania couldn't wait to be rid of them both.
The doorbell chimed again, and a second time, she heard Phoenix's wine from upstairs. "Tania! You have to make them wait!"
Tania groaned. Phoenix sounded like she's just stepped out of *Clueless*. It certainly suited her, Tania thought, an eyebrow raised. The sooner she got rid of Phoenix and her friend the better. Maybe tonight's hunting would be better than last night. At school everything had been ordinary. Nothing had happened, the Night People there didn't seem to be doing anything bad or out the ordinary. It made Tania confused. She *knew* something was up. It was just driving her crazy trying to figure out what.
She opened the door, finding Phoenix and Stacia's boyfriends, Parker Redwood and Cort Blackthorn. They both gave her dazzling smiles as she moved aside to let them in.
"Hey, kid, they ready yet?" Parker asked, shoving past her.
Tania bit back her lip on a smart retort. She ignored his remark. He always called her, "kid" just to piss her off. She was eighteen, not *that* young. Of course, to a two hundred-year-old vampire, who was she? She was fully aware both Parker and Cort were vampires, well over a hundred and fifty. Stacia was a witch. She allowed herself a small smile, they didn't know she knew.
"They're not ready yet, they'll be down in a minute," she answered, heading back into the lounge, to find the talk show she'd been watching to find Cort had replaced it with Monday Night Football on EPSN. "Hey! This isn't your house!"
"Who died and made you boss?" Cort said with a shrug. "All right!" he cheered as someone got a touch down. Annoyed, Tania reached out, trying to snatch the remote but Parker took it, holding it high out her reach.
"Calm down, kid, we'll be out of here in a few minutes," he said, an amused grin lighting up his handsome face. He was cute, sure, but scum underneath. Cort was no better. There was a stake in her purse by the armchair. All she needed was to make a quick lunge...
Instead, she couldn't help herself. Her fist shot out, smashing hard into Parker's laughing, arrogant face sending him stumbling backwards. Cort laughed, and an expression of fury crossed Parker's features. A normal human would have been terrified of such sudden anger. But vampire fury didn't intimidate Tania. She smiled unpleasantly and waited eagerly for his attack.
He ran at her and she moved out the way easily. The fight was fast turning into a macabre dance as she countered his every move. Her senses were aware of everything, fixed on nothing. A trick she'd been taught called *zanshin*, a state of total mind awareness.
When Parker grabbed her bare arm, something happened then she wasn't aware of. Sparks suddenly seemed to shoot from the skin to skin touch. Parker pulled away, looking at her in alarm.
"What the hell did you just do?" he snarled.
"Don't ask me!" she snapped back.
He tried to grab her again, and the same thing happened. With all the force she could master Tania shoved him away, her body still tingling with electricity. The room turned vaguely pink. She and Parker stood in the centre of the lounge, opposite each other, both breathing hard, glaring with hatred.
Electricity and tension of some sort hung in the air. Tania couldn't describe it. She'd never experienced anything like it before. It -
"What the hell is going on in here?" Phoenix demanded, coming into the room.
She stood in the centre of the doorway with her hands on her hips, a flame-coloured dress showing off her every curve and a daring amount of her long slender legs. Everything about Phoenix was red and gold, fire coloured.
Parker seemed to have gotten a hold of himself now. He threw one last glare at Tania before going to kiss Phoenix. Phoenix smiled, running her blood red nails through his dark hair as his arms wrapped around her and their lips met. A glance over at Stacia and Cort and they were doing the same. Stacia's dress was long and black and slinky. She looked like Morticia from *The Addams Family.*
Tania wasn't prepared for the sudden bout of jealousy that happened when she watched Phoenix and Parker. She hated both of them. Why should it bother her so much? Both Phoenix and Parker shot furious glares at her. Tania returned the look evenly.
Phoenix flipped back her red-gold hair and walked out the door, dragging Parker with her. Stacia and Cort followed.
Tania picked up the remote and turned the channel back to the one she'd been watching before, and of course, the show had finished. She sat there for a few minutes flipping idly, not really paying attention. Her circuits were still fried by that strange encounter with Parker. What *was* that?
She shuddered, unsure if she really wanted to know.
* * *
Phoenix kept herself calm and composed. She didn't make any fuss about the little scene she'd walked in on with Tania and Parker. She hadn't like the strange electricity in the air that had been almost visible, and the definite sexual tension between her sister and her boyfriend did not make her happy.
Was there something going on between Tania and Parker? There seemed to be. The tension and heat was there every time they were in the same room. Parker swore there was nothing going on between them. He was a vampire, Tania was vermin. It was forbidden.
If it was forbidden for vampires to fall in love with humans, shouldn't it be forbidden to adopt them too? The reasons for adopting a human were still beyond Phoenix, even now.
There was only one solution for dealing with Tania in Phoenix's opinion.
Kill her.
No Tania, no problem. Right?
* * *
12 years later...
Wind was raging, rain falling in sheets, lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The alley was dark and cold, but Tania knew he'd show up sooner or later. She heard a noise behind her, and whirled round, plunging her stake into the heart of the monster who tried to sneak up on her. Leech.
She smiled, watching the monster jabbering uselessly, the light going out its animal eyes. Within minutes, the vampire skin was going yellow and leathery, peeling away from the flesh, leaving a sac of old bones there. She stepped over the corpse, leaving it where it was.
What to do now...
Tania made her way out the alley. The small island of Moon Bay was quiet. Being after midnight and a school night, most of the kids were in bed. She didn't see anyone she knew as she wandered down the dark, deserted streets, eyes peeled for signs of Night People. There seemed to be a large proportion of them in the town, and so few hunters, like herself.
Monsters. All of them. They were the ones who had killed her parents. It had taken her a long time to finally learn the truth about what happened, what her adopted family really were. Of course, they had no idea about Tania's little "hobby". As far as they were aware, Tania didn't know anything about Night World.
Or that she was a damned Daybreaker. What would they do if they found out? All she needed to do was make sure she kept the secret from blabbermouth Phoenix, who was home after graduating from college. She was supposed to be looking for a place of her own, but never seemed to get round to it. Her friend Stacia had come to stay, and they lounged around all day like spoiled cats.
A walk around the entire island took less than hour. Tania checked the park, the junior high, the elementary, the high school. No vampires, no shifters. Nothing. She had to admit, she felt a little disappointed.
After finishing, she went home, sneaking back in the house through the back way. She dreaded to think what her foster parents would think if they caught her coming in this hour. She pulled out a small book with a hardback cover, jotting inside her findings. She always liked to keep records of her work. She had records of things she'd found, monsters, what they were capable of, kills, a whole database.
She called her CD contact, a werewolf called Kyara. "Hey, it's Tania," she said, as soon as the other girl answered.
"Anything good to report?"
"Nothing," Tania's said, rather gloomily. "Except for one vampire kill. That's it."
Kyara chuckled. "You sound almost disappointed."
"I don't know," Tania admitted. "It's weird. Where are they all?"
"Who knows?"
"Well maybe it's something we should find out," Tania said. It seemed as if the Night People were up to something. It was December, the hunt was on for the final Wild Power, it all depended on which side got him - or her. So far, no one even knew who it was.
"You do that," Kyara said. "You need any help, call us."
"Sure. Bye." Tania hung up. She walked over to the large window and sat on the upholstered window seat looking out. The sky was black, stretching out for miles and miles above the manicured landscape of her family's mansion.
Was there something going on with the town's Night People? It was up to her to find out.
* * *
Part 3
"Tania! Get the damn door!" Phoenix's voice called out from upstairs.
Tania sighed, ignoring her, continuing flipping through the channels of the large, cinema size TV in the lounge. Phoenix and Stacia had been hogging it all day, as if they had nothing else to do. Tania couldn't wait to be rid of them both.
The doorbell chimed again, and a second time, she heard Phoenix's wine from upstairs. "Tania! You have to make them wait!"
Tania groaned. Phoenix sounded like she's just stepped out of *Clueless*. It certainly suited her, Tania thought, an eyebrow raised. The sooner she got rid of Phoenix and her friend the better. Maybe tonight's hunting would be better than last night. At school everything had been ordinary. Nothing had happened, the Night People there didn't seem to be doing anything bad or out the ordinary. It made Tania confused. She *knew* something was up. It was just driving her crazy trying to figure out what.
She opened the door, finding Phoenix and Stacia's boyfriends, Parker Redwood and Cort Blackthorn. They both gave her dazzling smiles as she moved aside to let them in.
"Hey, kid, they ready yet?" Parker asked, shoving past her.
Tania bit back her lip on a smart retort. She ignored his remark. He always called her, "kid" just to piss her off. She was eighteen, not *that* young. Of course, to a two hundred-year-old vampire, who was she? She was fully aware both Parker and Cort were vampires, well over a hundred and fifty. Stacia was a witch. She allowed herself a small smile, they didn't know she knew.
"They're not ready yet, they'll be down in a minute," she answered, heading back into the lounge, to find the talk show she'd been watching to find Cort had replaced it with Monday Night Football on EPSN. "Hey! This isn't your house!"
"Who died and made you boss?" Cort said with a shrug. "All right!" he cheered as someone got a touch down. Annoyed, Tania reached out, trying to snatch the remote but Parker took it, holding it high out her reach.
"Calm down, kid, we'll be out of here in a few minutes," he said, an amused grin lighting up his handsome face. He was cute, sure, but scum underneath. Cort was no better. There was a stake in her purse by the armchair. All she needed was to make a quick lunge...
Instead, she couldn't help herself. Her fist shot out, smashing hard into Parker's laughing, arrogant face sending him stumbling backwards. Cort laughed, and an expression of fury crossed Parker's features. A normal human would have been terrified of such sudden anger. But vampire fury didn't intimidate Tania. She smiled unpleasantly and waited eagerly for his attack.
He ran at her and she moved out the way easily. The fight was fast turning into a macabre dance as she countered his every move. Her senses were aware of everything, fixed on nothing. A trick she'd been taught called *zanshin*, a state of total mind awareness.
When Parker grabbed her bare arm, something happened then she wasn't aware of. Sparks suddenly seemed to shoot from the skin to skin touch. Parker pulled away, looking at her in alarm.
"What the hell did you just do?" he snarled.
"Don't ask me!" she snapped back.
He tried to grab her again, and the same thing happened. With all the force she could master Tania shoved him away, her body still tingling with electricity. The room turned vaguely pink. She and Parker stood in the centre of the lounge, opposite each other, both breathing hard, glaring with hatred.
Electricity and tension of some sort hung in the air. Tania couldn't describe it. She'd never experienced anything like it before. It -
"What the hell is going on in here?" Phoenix demanded, coming into the room.
She stood in the centre of the doorway with her hands on her hips, a flame-coloured dress showing off her every curve and a daring amount of her long slender legs. Everything about Phoenix was red and gold, fire coloured.
Parker seemed to have gotten a hold of himself now. He threw one last glare at Tania before going to kiss Phoenix. Phoenix smiled, running her blood red nails through his dark hair as his arms wrapped around her and their lips met. A glance over at Stacia and Cort and they were doing the same. Stacia's dress was long and black and slinky. She looked like Morticia from *The Addams Family.*
Tania wasn't prepared for the sudden bout of jealousy that happened when she watched Phoenix and Parker. She hated both of them. Why should it bother her so much? Both Phoenix and Parker shot furious glares at her. Tania returned the look evenly.
Phoenix flipped back her red-gold hair and walked out the door, dragging Parker with her. Stacia and Cort followed.
Tania picked up the remote and turned the channel back to the one she'd been watching before, and of course, the show had finished. She sat there for a few minutes flipping idly, not really paying attention. Her circuits were still fried by that strange encounter with Parker. What *was* that?
She shuddered, unsure if she really wanted to know.
* * *
Phoenix kept herself calm and composed. She didn't make any fuss about the little scene she'd walked in on with Tania and Parker. She hadn't like the strange electricity in the air that had been almost visible, and the definite sexual tension between her sister and her boyfriend did not make her happy.
Was there something going on between Tania and Parker? There seemed to be. The tension and heat was there every time they were in the same room. Parker swore there was nothing going on between them. He was a vampire, Tania was vermin. It was forbidden.
If it was forbidden for vampires to fall in love with humans, shouldn't it be forbidden to adopt them too? The reasons for adopting a human were still beyond Phoenix, even now.
There was only one solution for dealing with Tania in Phoenix's opinion.
Kill her.
No Tania, no problem. Right?
* * *