Leila scowled, watching Mary-Lynnette and Ash from round the corner of the General Store. It was hard to spy on people when the town was so deserted. She wanted to hide somewhere safe, but not dead.
She was annoyed that Ash would rather have a human than her. What was so special about Mary-Lynnette? You didn't *have* to stay with your soulmate. There wasn't a written rule somewhere that stated all soulmates must be in love and stay together no matter what.
Maybe she only thought this way because she hadn't found her own soulmate yet, she reflected silently. She would like to have a soulmate, someone who understood her and everything, but for now...
She sighed dreamily, she would like to have Ash.
"You're all day-dreamy," Dorian's voice said from behind her. Anyone else would have probably jumped or freaked at him being so close, but Leila was used to him by now.
"Sickening, isn't it?" he sneered, nodding in the direction of Ash and Mary-Lynnette all over each other.
"It's not fair," Leila complained. "I want him." She knew she sounded petty but didn't care. She normally got what she wanted.
Dorian snorted in contempt. "You can do better."
Leila glanced at him. He looked rather disgusted. She wondered vaguely if he couldn't be a little bit jealous. "I don't care," she said. She sighed. "But the problem is he's too attached to Mary-Lynnette."
Dorian fixed her with a stunning smile. "I can take care of her. I'll take her back to the enclave with me. She'll make a good human servant." He was smirking.
Leila eyed him, and shook her head. "Well, that wasn't what I was hoping you'd do, but I guess it's better than nothing."
* * *
Leila followed Ash as he headed back to the Burdock farm house. She wondered what sort of approach she should take with him. Should she go for flirty and loud, or should she take the quiet, shy approach?
She had never liked a boy enough to attempt flirting before, and didn't really know how to go about it. So she decided she might as well try the shy thing. If he'd changed like he said he had, he should be more attuned to helping her fit in.
As if he felt her eyes on him he turned around, seeing her lurking in the shadows. "You can come out," he said with a faint smile. "I don't bite."
Leila gave him a small smile, heading out. "You'll have to excuse me, I'm sort of nervous..." she trailed off, shrugging.
Ash just eyed her. "No problem. So how are you doing so far?"
Leila brightened a little as they headed back to the house. "It's quiet, and I guess a little dull, but compared to the enclave it's good."
"You'll get used to it," Jade said cheerfully as they entered the farm house.
Leila was annoyed. Jade's cheerfulness was really starting to get on her nerves. She managed not to scowl as they headed into the living room.
But at least so far, no one would suspect anything...
* * *
Ash was feeling extremely uncomfortable. He wondered if there was something to Leila's innocence. The subtle way she kept trying to flirt with him was a little suspicious.
He kept telling himself he was just being paranoid. Leila was just trying to fit in, even if she was a little too close for comfort. After talking to her for a while, he was starting to like her a little more. She was pretty with her night-dark hair and shining eyes, but why would he be interested? He had Mary-Lynnette.
Speaking of whom...
"What the hell are you doing?"
He blinked, surprised and startled by her angry tone. He glanced over at Leila who was leaning against him, and Mare who stood in the doorway, looking royally pissed off.
"It's not what it looks like," he protested. But she was gone before he could stop her. He sighed and closed his eyes.
"Did we don something wrong?" Leila asked, confused.
Ash sighed heavily. "I'll deal with it," he said and started heading after Mary-Lynnette. He'd barely been back for two days and he'd already gotten himself in trouble. Some soulmate he was.
* * *
Mary-Lynnette was unhappy. She should have known. She had truly believed that Ash had changed, that he'd become better...but from what it looked like he was just the same. She sighed miserably, sitting on her lawn chair on top of her hill. She had been there all afternoon until night had fallen, not feeling like talking to people.
She wondered what Leila had that she didn't. She was prettier...and a vampire as well, she thought gloomily. Maybe Ash wants someone of his own species he doesn't have to worry about getting old and dying.
She sighed gloomily. Clouds covered the sky and no stars shone tonight, which made her even more depressing. The air was hot and sticky. She sighed, deciding she might as well head home and mope there.
* * *
It had taken her a long time to finally hunt them down. Hiding in the middle of nowhere had been a good thing. Daybreak fools had been quite helpful in finding them. It had taken a little convincing, but they had eventually given in. Jerks.
A slow smile spread across her face. Briar Creek was a small town, so they wouldn't bee too hard to find. Ash Redfern and Dorian Blackthorn were going to pay for what they did.
But why go through them? Hurt what *mattered* to them and they'd suffer more.
A girl was walking down the road, heading in her direction. The soulmate of Ash. Time to set things in motion...
* * *
Mary-Lynnette was still angry. She couldn't believe she'd actually believed that Ash had changed. She told herself to stop thinking about him. The next time she saw him she'd just tell him to go back to wherever he came from. She couldn't trust him after all. What did Leila have that she didn't anyway?
Lost in thought she failed to see the other person walking in her direction until she bumped into them. She looked up, flushing. "Sorry," she muttered.
The girl glared at her furiously. "Watch where you're going," she snapped.
Mary-Lynnette frowned, knowing she hadn't seen the girl before. She was tall, red hair cascading around slender shoulders, ice cold blue eyes glowering at her from a pretty face. "Are you new in town?" she asked.
The girl smiled unpleasantly. "Yeah, but I won't be staying long."
Mary-Lynnette wondered what her problem was. Maybe she was just nervous about being in a new place or something, hadn't made any friends yet. Was that why she was being cold and mean? Maybe. "I'm Mary-Lynnette, who are you?"
"Lilith Caldwell," the girl answered, still not smiling. She slipped her hand inside her purse. Mary-Lynnette caught a glimpse of something brown, looking like wood.
Before Lilith could pull it out her purse a shadow fell over them. Mary-Lynette glanced over her shoulder to see Dorian behind her. Dorian wasn't smiling either.
"Lilith," he said, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"
The girl fixed him with a nasty grin. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said.
"Not really," Dorian answered lazily. "I was just curious. Now go away."
Lilith turned her sneer on Mary-Lynnette. "As for you...I'll be back." And she headed off down the road.
Mary-Lynnette, watched her go, confused. Now what was all that about? The girl had been planning on doing something, and she had the feeling Dorian had come and saved her just in time. From what, she wasn't too sure, and realised she didn't want to know what Lilith had had in mind.
"You know her?" she asked him finally.
Dorian frowned a little. "I used to," he answered. He tilted his head to one side, studying her. "You okay?"
Mary-Lynnette shrugged. "Not really," she admitted. She'd been in a bad enough mood with Ash being an asshole, and Lilith hadn't made her feel any better.
"Just ignore Lilith," Dorian said dismissively. "She can be a bitch sometimes. In fact, most of the time," her added wryly.
Mary-Lynette shrugged again. She wanted to talk to someone about the problem, but she wasn't sure Dorian was the best person to talk to. She didn't like him very much, but then again, Dorian didn't like Ash, so that made her like him more for the time being. "Ash nearly kissed another girl," she said sourly.
"Maybe you're better of without him," Dorian suggested. "Especially if you don't think you can trust him."
Mary-Lynnette didn't know what to think about that. Maybe she was overreacting, maybe she wasn't. "I just don't know," she said miserably.
Dorian shrugged. "Well if you need someone to talk to, come and find me." And with that he walked off down the road.
Mary-Lynette stared after him, not sure if she was amused or angry. She shook her head, and headed home, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feel of eyes on her.
* * *
Lilith scowled as she walked down the road, away from Mary-Lynnette. She had had such a perfect opportunity to get the little bitch and that jerk Dorian had come in and spoiled the moment.
Her fists clenched tightly. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as the farm house came into view. The girl at the General Store had been most helpful in telling her where to find Ash Redfern. Typical dumb blonde, she thought with a sneer.
Anyway, if Ash wasn't there, then one of his sisters, or all of them. She remembered someone had once told her lamia were quite family orientated.
But someone else sitting on the porch surrounding the house caught her attention. A small girl with black hair and blue eyes. Dorian's baby sister Leila if she remembered correctly. She was sitting talking to another girl with silvery blonde hair and shiny green eyes.
Well, two for the price of one. She boldly approached.
* * *
Leila sighed with impatience. Her plan wasn't going very well. Ash was avoiding her now. Jade was trying to cheer her up, but her perkiness was annoying. Leila was about to stand up when she saw someone she'd never seen before approaching the house.
The girl was tall, with creamy pale skin, red hair falling to her shoulders, glinting in the sunlight. Her expression wasn't a pleasant one.
Jade stood up too. "Hey, are you new too?" she asked.
"Yeah," the girl said, still with an unfriendly smirk. "But I won't be staying around for long."
"Can we help you with something?" Leila asked, deciding she didn't like this girl on sight.
"I believe you can," she said, still coming, even though neither she nor Jade was going to invite her into the house.
A shadow fell over Leila. She turned to see Ash lounging against the door. He glared at the redhead. "Go away Lilith."
The girl - Lilith - blinked with surprise. "I'm surprised you remembered me at all," she said bitterly.
Ash just stared at her evenly. "Get out of here." His tone held a definite malice, he was trying to protect Leila and Jade. Which made Leila like him even more.
Lilith scowled. "I'll be back," she hissed. "You won't get away."
Ash sighed with impatience. "Sure, Lilith. I'm shaking in my boots."
The girl turned and was gone in a whirl of red.
Jade was studying her brother with a frown marring her face. "Who was that?" she asked.
"No one important," Ash said, and turned away, heading back into the house.
Leila and Jade exchanged glances. Ash was clearly lying.
* * *
Lilith stalked off down the road, furious. She felt like screaming. Maybe she should just to see the looks on their faces. She glanced back to see Ash had come out of the house again and was watching her to make sure she'd go away.
A wave of anger suddenly struck her. The hell with caution and being careful. She yanked her stake out her purse, turned around and ran straight for Ash.
* * *
Lilith being back in town was definitely not a good thing. Ash left the house, just to make sure she'd actually gone away. The next thing he knew something strong knocked into him, shoving him to the ground.
He blinked, a mass of red hair filling his vision. Lilith grinned unpleasantly at him, stake held high.
"What are you doing?"
It was Mary-Lynnette's voice. Ash glanced up from his wrestling match with Lilith to see she didn't look too pleased to see him with a girl on top of him.
"Hey! Stop that!"
That voice was Jade's. She and Leila had come back out of the house, along with Kestrel and Rowan. Kestrel looked rather amused. "Now what have you done, Ash?"
"Don't just stand there!" he snapped at them. "Get her *off* me!"
"I don't think Ash had said those words to anything with breasts, ever," Kestrel said dryly, still amused.
Lilith was still trying to get her stake into him, but before she could, Rowan yanked her off and threw her to the ground. Ash saw a rare fire in her eyes as she glared at Lilith. "Get out of here," she hissed. "Because next time, we might let Kestrel kill you."
Lilith, realising she was defeated, stalked off. They watched her walk down the road until she was out of sight. Ash still remained lying on the porch, slightly dazed. After a minute he stumbled to his feet, realising everyone was looking at him. Mary-Lynnette was still glaring.
"Who was she?" Mark asked, peeking out from inside the house. Ash hadn't even known he was there.
"You've been naughty," Kestrel said.
"Give it up," he snapped at her, heading into the house. The others were still following. Reluctantly, he realised he was going to have to explain Lilith to them.
"What'd you do to piss her off?" Mary-Lynnette asked.
"What makes you think it was me?" he said sourly.
"She tried to kill you," Leila pointed out. "I'd say that's a pretty good indication of a reason you to have pissed her off."
Ash sighed heavily.
"Who is she?" Rowan asked.
"You cheated on her too?" Mary-Lynnette's voice was bitter.
Ash turned to protest he'd never actually cheated on Mary-Lynette, but before he could she was gone. He sighed again. He'd always thought being soulmates would be easy. Showed how much he knew.
"Wait a minute, I remember her," Kestrel said, interrupting his thoughts. "She was a slave in the enclave we used to live in. Didn't you have a fling with her sister?"
Ash flushed. He never flushed. "I...um..."
"Killed her?" Kestrel supplied.
"Ash!" Rowan snapped at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"No wonder she hates you," Jade snorted.
"I wasn't the only one who fed on her," Ash snapped. "And besides I didn't kill her. Dorian did."
There was a silence.
"Where *is* Dorian, anyway?" Rowan asked Leila.
Leila just shrugged. "I don't know."
"Isn't he the creepy guy who's been hitting on Mare?" Mark pointed out.
Ash rolled his eyes. Oh great. But if Dorian was after Mare, and Lilith was after him and Dorian. Dorian knew Mare was pissed at him right now, and...
* * *
Mary-Lynnette decided she would just go home. She didn't want to be around Ash anymore. She was tired of learning things about him she didn't want to know. He'd upset that other girl enough to try to kill him. She felt like killing him herself.
How could she have believed he'd actually changed. She tugged on the dragon pendant around her neck, his proof that he'd slayed dragons for her.
She sighed, feeling tears welling in her eyes. She brushed them away angrily. She would just move on. Find somebody new. And she knew of one boy who had had his eye on her, even if he was a little creepy.
"Hi Dorian," she said out loud.
Dorian laughed quietly, coming around to join her. "How do you do that?" he asked.
Mary-Lynnette shrugged. "I just knew it was you," she answered. She didn't know how she'd known it was him, she'd just - known. She stopped, and he stopped too.
An idea was starting to form in her mind. She could see Dorian moving in front of her, moving closer to her. Mary-Lynnette could feel her lip curl a little. Ash wasn't the only one who could cheat on his soulmate.
She deliberately grabbed Dorian's shoulders, pulled him close and kissed him. There was no soulmate connection as there had been with Ash, no wonderful pinky haze filling her mind. But the kiss was okay, it made her feel slightly better.
She was so absorbed in kissing Dorian, smug at how much it would piss of Ash (teach him a lesson for betraying me!) that she didn't even notice Lilith coming up behind Dorian until she felt him go stiff in her arms.
Mary-Lynnette pulled back, realising something was wrong. She stared at horror at the stake sticking out of Dorian's back. She shoved the body away from her, watching his skin caving in, shrinking and withering away, until he was a bag of old bones lying on the side walk.
She stared into Lilith's triumphant face. Lilith took the stake out a second time, and raised it high...
* * *
Leila felt bad about breaking Ash and Mary-Lynnette up, when Jade told her the story of how they'd gotten together. She decided she would find Mary-Lynnette and explain that nothing had gone on between her and Ash.
She didn't want Dorian to do anything to her anymore. She wanted to fit in here in Briar Creek, and didn't want to isolate Mary-Lynnette from the Redfern family there.
She headed in the direction of Mary-Lynnette's house...and got a shock to see her making out with Dorian. Before she could do anything that Lilith person came up from behind, staking Dorian.
Leila watched, frozen in horror as her brother turned into old bones before her eyes. Lilith was raising the stake a second time.
Leila's paralyse broke. "You bitch!" she screamed. And ran at Lilith.
* * *
Ash couldn't take this anymore. He hadn't done anything wrong to upset Mary-Lynnette. He was going to have to find her and make her listen to him. She was his soulmate, she should understand.
When he was walking down the road to Mary-Lynnette's house, he stopped dead at the sight that met his eyes. Mare making out with Dorian was bad enough - but Dorian got what he deserved when Lilith got him from behind. He smirked as he watched her.
The next thing he knew Leila had appeared and was running at Lilith, who was turning, with her stake held high, ready for a fight.
Ash sighed heavily. Now it looked like it was his turn to play hero. With a blur of motion he shot forward, knocking Leila into Mare and shoving them both out the way. He grabbed the stake from Lilith, who screamed as he snapped her wrist.
The screaming stopped when he snapped her neck.
He collapsed on the road, pushing the body away. Both Leila and Mare were staring at him in surprise. Then Mary-Lynnette was grabbing him and kissing him over and over, their soulmate spark shining, the white light filling his vision.
"Well that was unexpected," Leila said, breaking the trance.
Ash and Mary-Lynnette pulled back, looking at each other.
"Nothing ever happened with me and him," Leila said bluntly. "We just talked, that was all."
Mary-Lynnette flushed. "I'm so sorry, I overreacted," she whispered.
Ash shrugged. "It's okay. Can I get up now?" he asked.
They got to their feet.
They looked at the dead body of Lilith lying on the road.
"What do we do about that?" Leila asked.
Mary-Lynnette's head tilted. "I think I know," she said.
* * *
They buried Lilith's body with Jeremy and Mrs. Burdock deep in the woods where no one would find them. Leila had finally realised that Ash and Mary-Lynnette were meant for each other after all. She mused about the idea that her soulmate would be out there for her to find someday.
Mary-Lynnette finally realised she should have trusted Ash to be loyal to her. She was the one who had been big headed, not him. He had been understanding and totally forgiven her.
They were both going to the same college next year with Kestrel and Rowan. Mark and Jade would be staying behind in Briar Creek, not so boring for them now since they had each other.
Mary-Lynnette found herself looking forward to college, she had a new future, and her soulmate with her. What could be better?
THE END.
She was annoyed that Ash would rather have a human than her. What was so special about Mary-Lynnette? You didn't *have* to stay with your soulmate. There wasn't a written rule somewhere that stated all soulmates must be in love and stay together no matter what.
Maybe she only thought this way because she hadn't found her own soulmate yet, she reflected silently. She would like to have a soulmate, someone who understood her and everything, but for now...
She sighed dreamily, she would like to have Ash.
"You're all day-dreamy," Dorian's voice said from behind her. Anyone else would have probably jumped or freaked at him being so close, but Leila was used to him by now.
"Sickening, isn't it?" he sneered, nodding in the direction of Ash and Mary-Lynnette all over each other.
"It's not fair," Leila complained. "I want him." She knew she sounded petty but didn't care. She normally got what she wanted.
Dorian snorted in contempt. "You can do better."
Leila glanced at him. He looked rather disgusted. She wondered vaguely if he couldn't be a little bit jealous. "I don't care," she said. She sighed. "But the problem is he's too attached to Mary-Lynnette."
Dorian fixed her with a stunning smile. "I can take care of her. I'll take her back to the enclave with me. She'll make a good human servant." He was smirking.
Leila eyed him, and shook her head. "Well, that wasn't what I was hoping you'd do, but I guess it's better than nothing."
* * *
Leila followed Ash as he headed back to the Burdock farm house. She wondered what sort of approach she should take with him. Should she go for flirty and loud, or should she take the quiet, shy approach?
She had never liked a boy enough to attempt flirting before, and didn't really know how to go about it. So she decided she might as well try the shy thing. If he'd changed like he said he had, he should be more attuned to helping her fit in.
As if he felt her eyes on him he turned around, seeing her lurking in the shadows. "You can come out," he said with a faint smile. "I don't bite."
Leila gave him a small smile, heading out. "You'll have to excuse me, I'm sort of nervous..." she trailed off, shrugging.
Ash just eyed her. "No problem. So how are you doing so far?"
Leila brightened a little as they headed back to the house. "It's quiet, and I guess a little dull, but compared to the enclave it's good."
"You'll get used to it," Jade said cheerfully as they entered the farm house.
Leila was annoyed. Jade's cheerfulness was really starting to get on her nerves. She managed not to scowl as they headed into the living room.
But at least so far, no one would suspect anything...
* * *
Ash was feeling extremely uncomfortable. He wondered if there was something to Leila's innocence. The subtle way she kept trying to flirt with him was a little suspicious.
He kept telling himself he was just being paranoid. Leila was just trying to fit in, even if she was a little too close for comfort. After talking to her for a while, he was starting to like her a little more. She was pretty with her night-dark hair and shining eyes, but why would he be interested? He had Mary-Lynnette.
Speaking of whom...
"What the hell are you doing?"
He blinked, surprised and startled by her angry tone. He glanced over at Leila who was leaning against him, and Mare who stood in the doorway, looking royally pissed off.
"It's not what it looks like," he protested. But she was gone before he could stop her. He sighed and closed his eyes.
"Did we don something wrong?" Leila asked, confused.
Ash sighed heavily. "I'll deal with it," he said and started heading after Mary-Lynnette. He'd barely been back for two days and he'd already gotten himself in trouble. Some soulmate he was.
* * *
Mary-Lynnette was unhappy. She should have known. She had truly believed that Ash had changed, that he'd become better...but from what it looked like he was just the same. She sighed miserably, sitting on her lawn chair on top of her hill. She had been there all afternoon until night had fallen, not feeling like talking to people.
She wondered what Leila had that she didn't. She was prettier...and a vampire as well, she thought gloomily. Maybe Ash wants someone of his own species he doesn't have to worry about getting old and dying.
She sighed gloomily. Clouds covered the sky and no stars shone tonight, which made her even more depressing. The air was hot and sticky. She sighed, deciding she might as well head home and mope there.
* * *
It had taken her a long time to finally hunt them down. Hiding in the middle of nowhere had been a good thing. Daybreak fools had been quite helpful in finding them. It had taken a little convincing, but they had eventually given in. Jerks.
A slow smile spread across her face. Briar Creek was a small town, so they wouldn't bee too hard to find. Ash Redfern and Dorian Blackthorn were going to pay for what they did.
But why go through them? Hurt what *mattered* to them and they'd suffer more.
A girl was walking down the road, heading in her direction. The soulmate of Ash. Time to set things in motion...
* * *
Mary-Lynnette was still angry. She couldn't believe she'd actually believed that Ash had changed. She told herself to stop thinking about him. The next time she saw him she'd just tell him to go back to wherever he came from. She couldn't trust him after all. What did Leila have that she didn't anyway?
Lost in thought she failed to see the other person walking in her direction until she bumped into them. She looked up, flushing. "Sorry," she muttered.
The girl glared at her furiously. "Watch where you're going," she snapped.
Mary-Lynnette frowned, knowing she hadn't seen the girl before. She was tall, red hair cascading around slender shoulders, ice cold blue eyes glowering at her from a pretty face. "Are you new in town?" she asked.
The girl smiled unpleasantly. "Yeah, but I won't be staying long."
Mary-Lynnette wondered what her problem was. Maybe she was just nervous about being in a new place or something, hadn't made any friends yet. Was that why she was being cold and mean? Maybe. "I'm Mary-Lynnette, who are you?"
"Lilith Caldwell," the girl answered, still not smiling. She slipped her hand inside her purse. Mary-Lynnette caught a glimpse of something brown, looking like wood.
Before Lilith could pull it out her purse a shadow fell over them. Mary-Lynette glanced over her shoulder to see Dorian behind her. Dorian wasn't smiling either.
"Lilith," he said, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"
The girl fixed him with a nasty grin. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said.
"Not really," Dorian answered lazily. "I was just curious. Now go away."
Lilith turned her sneer on Mary-Lynnette. "As for you...I'll be back." And she headed off down the road.
Mary-Lynnette, watched her go, confused. Now what was all that about? The girl had been planning on doing something, and she had the feeling Dorian had come and saved her just in time. From what, she wasn't too sure, and realised she didn't want to know what Lilith had had in mind.
"You know her?" she asked him finally.
Dorian frowned a little. "I used to," he answered. He tilted his head to one side, studying her. "You okay?"
Mary-Lynnette shrugged. "Not really," she admitted. She'd been in a bad enough mood with Ash being an asshole, and Lilith hadn't made her feel any better.
"Just ignore Lilith," Dorian said dismissively. "She can be a bitch sometimes. In fact, most of the time," her added wryly.
Mary-Lynette shrugged again. She wanted to talk to someone about the problem, but she wasn't sure Dorian was the best person to talk to. She didn't like him very much, but then again, Dorian didn't like Ash, so that made her like him more for the time being. "Ash nearly kissed another girl," she said sourly.
"Maybe you're better of without him," Dorian suggested. "Especially if you don't think you can trust him."
Mary-Lynnette didn't know what to think about that. Maybe she was overreacting, maybe she wasn't. "I just don't know," she said miserably.
Dorian shrugged. "Well if you need someone to talk to, come and find me." And with that he walked off down the road.
Mary-Lynette stared after him, not sure if she was amused or angry. She shook her head, and headed home, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feel of eyes on her.
* * *
Lilith scowled as she walked down the road, away from Mary-Lynnette. She had had such a perfect opportunity to get the little bitch and that jerk Dorian had come in and spoiled the moment.
Her fists clenched tightly. She took a deep breath to calm herself down as the farm house came into view. The girl at the General Store had been most helpful in telling her where to find Ash Redfern. Typical dumb blonde, she thought with a sneer.
Anyway, if Ash wasn't there, then one of his sisters, or all of them. She remembered someone had once told her lamia were quite family orientated.
But someone else sitting on the porch surrounding the house caught her attention. A small girl with black hair and blue eyes. Dorian's baby sister Leila if she remembered correctly. She was sitting talking to another girl with silvery blonde hair and shiny green eyes.
Well, two for the price of one. She boldly approached.
* * *
Leila sighed with impatience. Her plan wasn't going very well. Ash was avoiding her now. Jade was trying to cheer her up, but her perkiness was annoying. Leila was about to stand up when she saw someone she'd never seen before approaching the house.
The girl was tall, with creamy pale skin, red hair falling to her shoulders, glinting in the sunlight. Her expression wasn't a pleasant one.
Jade stood up too. "Hey, are you new too?" she asked.
"Yeah," the girl said, still with an unfriendly smirk. "But I won't be staying around for long."
"Can we help you with something?" Leila asked, deciding she didn't like this girl on sight.
"I believe you can," she said, still coming, even though neither she nor Jade was going to invite her into the house.
A shadow fell over Leila. She turned to see Ash lounging against the door. He glared at the redhead. "Go away Lilith."
The girl - Lilith - blinked with surprise. "I'm surprised you remembered me at all," she said bitterly.
Ash just stared at her evenly. "Get out of here." His tone held a definite malice, he was trying to protect Leila and Jade. Which made Leila like him even more.
Lilith scowled. "I'll be back," she hissed. "You won't get away."
Ash sighed with impatience. "Sure, Lilith. I'm shaking in my boots."
The girl turned and was gone in a whirl of red.
Jade was studying her brother with a frown marring her face. "Who was that?" she asked.
"No one important," Ash said, and turned away, heading back into the house.
Leila and Jade exchanged glances. Ash was clearly lying.
* * *
Lilith stalked off down the road, furious. She felt like screaming. Maybe she should just to see the looks on their faces. She glanced back to see Ash had come out of the house again and was watching her to make sure she'd go away.
A wave of anger suddenly struck her. The hell with caution and being careful. She yanked her stake out her purse, turned around and ran straight for Ash.
* * *
Lilith being back in town was definitely not a good thing. Ash left the house, just to make sure she'd actually gone away. The next thing he knew something strong knocked into him, shoving him to the ground.
He blinked, a mass of red hair filling his vision. Lilith grinned unpleasantly at him, stake held high.
"What are you doing?"
It was Mary-Lynnette's voice. Ash glanced up from his wrestling match with Lilith to see she didn't look too pleased to see him with a girl on top of him.
"Hey! Stop that!"
That voice was Jade's. She and Leila had come back out of the house, along with Kestrel and Rowan. Kestrel looked rather amused. "Now what have you done, Ash?"
"Don't just stand there!" he snapped at them. "Get her *off* me!"
"I don't think Ash had said those words to anything with breasts, ever," Kestrel said dryly, still amused.
Lilith was still trying to get her stake into him, but before she could, Rowan yanked her off and threw her to the ground. Ash saw a rare fire in her eyes as she glared at Lilith. "Get out of here," she hissed. "Because next time, we might let Kestrel kill you."
Lilith, realising she was defeated, stalked off. They watched her walk down the road until she was out of sight. Ash still remained lying on the porch, slightly dazed. After a minute he stumbled to his feet, realising everyone was looking at him. Mary-Lynnette was still glaring.
"Who was she?" Mark asked, peeking out from inside the house. Ash hadn't even known he was there.
"You've been naughty," Kestrel said.
"Give it up," he snapped at her, heading into the house. The others were still following. Reluctantly, he realised he was going to have to explain Lilith to them.
"What'd you do to piss her off?" Mary-Lynnette asked.
"What makes you think it was me?" he said sourly.
"She tried to kill you," Leila pointed out. "I'd say that's a pretty good indication of a reason you to have pissed her off."
Ash sighed heavily.
"Who is she?" Rowan asked.
"You cheated on her too?" Mary-Lynnette's voice was bitter.
Ash turned to protest he'd never actually cheated on Mary-Lynette, but before he could she was gone. He sighed again. He'd always thought being soulmates would be easy. Showed how much he knew.
"Wait a minute, I remember her," Kestrel said, interrupting his thoughts. "She was a slave in the enclave we used to live in. Didn't you have a fling with her sister?"
Ash flushed. He never flushed. "I...um..."
"Killed her?" Kestrel supplied.
"Ash!" Rowan snapped at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"No wonder she hates you," Jade snorted.
"I wasn't the only one who fed on her," Ash snapped. "And besides I didn't kill her. Dorian did."
There was a silence.
"Where *is* Dorian, anyway?" Rowan asked Leila.
Leila just shrugged. "I don't know."
"Isn't he the creepy guy who's been hitting on Mare?" Mark pointed out.
Ash rolled his eyes. Oh great. But if Dorian was after Mare, and Lilith was after him and Dorian. Dorian knew Mare was pissed at him right now, and...
* * *
Mary-Lynnette decided she would just go home. She didn't want to be around Ash anymore. She was tired of learning things about him she didn't want to know. He'd upset that other girl enough to try to kill him. She felt like killing him herself.
How could she have believed he'd actually changed. She tugged on the dragon pendant around her neck, his proof that he'd slayed dragons for her.
She sighed, feeling tears welling in her eyes. She brushed them away angrily. She would just move on. Find somebody new. And she knew of one boy who had had his eye on her, even if he was a little creepy.
"Hi Dorian," she said out loud.
Dorian laughed quietly, coming around to join her. "How do you do that?" he asked.
Mary-Lynnette shrugged. "I just knew it was you," she answered. She didn't know how she'd known it was him, she'd just - known. She stopped, and he stopped too.
An idea was starting to form in her mind. She could see Dorian moving in front of her, moving closer to her. Mary-Lynnette could feel her lip curl a little. Ash wasn't the only one who could cheat on his soulmate.
She deliberately grabbed Dorian's shoulders, pulled him close and kissed him. There was no soulmate connection as there had been with Ash, no wonderful pinky haze filling her mind. But the kiss was okay, it made her feel slightly better.
She was so absorbed in kissing Dorian, smug at how much it would piss of Ash (teach him a lesson for betraying me!) that she didn't even notice Lilith coming up behind Dorian until she felt him go stiff in her arms.
Mary-Lynnette pulled back, realising something was wrong. She stared at horror at the stake sticking out of Dorian's back. She shoved the body away from her, watching his skin caving in, shrinking and withering away, until he was a bag of old bones lying on the side walk.
She stared into Lilith's triumphant face. Lilith took the stake out a second time, and raised it high...
* * *
Leila felt bad about breaking Ash and Mary-Lynnette up, when Jade told her the story of how they'd gotten together. She decided she would find Mary-Lynnette and explain that nothing had gone on between her and Ash.
She didn't want Dorian to do anything to her anymore. She wanted to fit in here in Briar Creek, and didn't want to isolate Mary-Lynnette from the Redfern family there.
She headed in the direction of Mary-Lynnette's house...and got a shock to see her making out with Dorian. Before she could do anything that Lilith person came up from behind, staking Dorian.
Leila watched, frozen in horror as her brother turned into old bones before her eyes. Lilith was raising the stake a second time.
Leila's paralyse broke. "You bitch!" she screamed. And ran at Lilith.
* * *
Ash couldn't take this anymore. He hadn't done anything wrong to upset Mary-Lynnette. He was going to have to find her and make her listen to him. She was his soulmate, she should understand.
When he was walking down the road to Mary-Lynnette's house, he stopped dead at the sight that met his eyes. Mare making out with Dorian was bad enough - but Dorian got what he deserved when Lilith got him from behind. He smirked as he watched her.
The next thing he knew Leila had appeared and was running at Lilith, who was turning, with her stake held high, ready for a fight.
Ash sighed heavily. Now it looked like it was his turn to play hero. With a blur of motion he shot forward, knocking Leila into Mare and shoving them both out the way. He grabbed the stake from Lilith, who screamed as he snapped her wrist.
The screaming stopped when he snapped her neck.
He collapsed on the road, pushing the body away. Both Leila and Mare were staring at him in surprise. Then Mary-Lynnette was grabbing him and kissing him over and over, their soulmate spark shining, the white light filling his vision.
"Well that was unexpected," Leila said, breaking the trance.
Ash and Mary-Lynnette pulled back, looking at each other.
"Nothing ever happened with me and him," Leila said bluntly. "We just talked, that was all."
Mary-Lynnette flushed. "I'm so sorry, I overreacted," she whispered.
Ash shrugged. "It's okay. Can I get up now?" he asked.
They got to their feet.
They looked at the dead body of Lilith lying on the road.
"What do we do about that?" Leila asked.
Mary-Lynnette's head tilted. "I think I know," she said.
* * *
They buried Lilith's body with Jeremy and Mrs. Burdock deep in the woods where no one would find them. Leila had finally realised that Ash and Mary-Lynnette were meant for each other after all. She mused about the idea that her soulmate would be out there for her to find someday.
Mary-Lynnette finally realised she should have trusted Ash to be loyal to her. She was the one who had been big headed, not him. He had been understanding and totally forgiven her.
They were both going to the same college next year with Kestrel and Rowan. Mark and Jade would be staying behind in Briar Creek, not so boring for them now since they had each other.
Mary-Lynnette found herself looking forward to college, she had a new future, and her soulmate with her. What could be better?
THE END.