Part 15
Ivory paced up and down the room she had been locked in. It wasn't a bad room, in fact; it was rather luxurious. Nice big bed, elegant furniture, her own bathroom. At least the bad guys treat their hostages well, she thought dryly.
Or rather, the little voice inside her head was saying, they're nice because they *want* something from you. She wondered vaguely what had happened to Elle, she hadn't seen Elle since they'd left the party.
She now wished desperately she'd actually listened to Alina's warning. Did Alina know that Ivory was this strange, mysterious Power? Had she somehow figured it out and that was why she had been trying to warn Ivory to stay away?
Ivory sighed and sat down on the bed. She didn't know. She wondered if she should use her blue fire to try and blast the door down or something, but even if she did, where would she run afterwards?
She drummed impatient fingers, sick of not knowing what to do. Her eyes moved over to the large window, which was of course locked. She had tired breaking the window with no success.
She stood up and started pacing again, wanting to *do* something, but unsure of what. Before she could decide she heard a key turn in the lock.
Maybe she should just shove whoever it was and make a break for it. She stopped pacing and turned around to face the door, gearing herself up to just run as fast as she could - just get as far away from here as possible - to a phone, at least. There didn't seem to be one in the room.
But her momentum died when the door opened and she saw who it was. Her muscles locked up and her throat went dry. Mace. Who only did what Asfixia Redfern told him to.
Finally Ivory managed to locate her voice as he came inside, shutting the door behind him. "What do you want?"
This guy gave her the creeps. Wasn't mace something you used to spray people who were attacking you with?
"I need to talk to you." His voice was soft as if he didn't want to risk being over heard. He came inside and shut the door behind him.
Ivory moved the other side of the bed and sat down on the couch there. She tried to keep her expression calm and neutral. She didn't want to show he scared her.
Mace remained standing by the closed door. He looked as if he was searching for the right words to use. His vocal skills didn't seem nearly as impressive as the rest of him. Even she couldn't deny he was gorgeous, with those wonderful Nordic looks.
"Did Asfixia send you?" she asked him.
Mace smiled slightly. "No. She doesn't need to know about this."
Ivory's head tilted to one side, purple hair spilling to her shoulders. "I thought you only did what she tells you to do."
Mace made a noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh. "I do a lot of things Asfixia doesn't know about."
Ivory didn't know whether to laugh or not. She didn't feel in a laughing mood so she kept her mouth shut. "You wanted to talk..."
"About something called Circle Daybreak," he answered. His voice was very low.
Ivory frowned. She remembered hearing Tala mention that to someone. She still didn't know what it actually was. "What is it?" she asked.
"It's an organisation like the Night World, only we let humans in to," he explained, folding his arms.
Of course he wasn't human. He was a...she focused on the Power inside her, now she knew it was there, it was something she felt she could do instinctively. If she was a Night Person she should be able to tell what other Night People were...She tried to concentrate on the aura she could see around Mace. Vampire. That wasn't exactly surprising, really.
"You're the good guys?" Ivory guessed.
Mace smiled dryly. "Right And - "
"And you're gonna give me the come join the light speech?" Ivory interrupted with a sigh. Looking at Mace she found it hard to believe he was one of the good guys. He was the Night World leader's body guard for one ting.
Mace gave her another of his dry smiles. They were really starting to irritate her. "Pretty much, I'm a spy for Daybreak," he added.
Ivory was surprised, and impressed. "That was clever," she muttered. A spy for the good guys supposed to be protecting the head of the bad guys. She looked at him. "Why should I join Circle Daybreak?" she asked. "If Asfixia finds out, or we try to leave, we're both dead." She was smart enough to know that much.
For some reason her mind strayed to Drake and how disappointed he'd be if she chose good rather than bad. Ivory pushed the thought away, not sure where it came from, and she decided she didn't want to know.
Mace was frowning. "Asfixia is probably going to kill you anyway. The prophecy says 'Four less one and the darkness with triumph.' So all she needs to do is kill the Wild Power she has in her possession, and the human world is doomed."
Ivory rolled her eyes. She should have realised something like that.
"The vamps will enslave the remaining humans, they'll destroy everything," Mace went on. "Daybreak believe the Wild Powers will stop this, help defeat the darkness. We already have the other three. We need the fourth to win for sure."
Ivory didn't know what to think. It was all too overwhelming for one day. It was finally sinking in that she was a part of this end-of-the-world thing whether she wanted to be or not.
"I'm meeting with some other Daybreakers in a few days," he told her, straightening as if to leave. "I'll come back then." And with those words he left, locking the door behind her.
Ivory sighed heavily. Great. So the fate of the world rested in her hands, and she didn't know which side to choose.
* * *
Sherry frowned watching Mace come out of Ivory's room. Now what was he doing with her?
Maybe it was something she had better find out.
* * *
Part 16
"So Mace was in Ivory's room?" Asfixia asked, tapping her nails on the desk. "Now what would he be doing there?"
Sherry shook her head. "I don't know. She's fine, I checked on her."
"So what's Mace up to?" Asfixia sat back in her chair frowning. They had the last Wild Power. One problem was almost solved. Now Mace was acting strange.
"Just keep your eye on him," she told Sherry.
Sherry nodded and left the office. Asfixia sighed and closed her eyes, sitting back in her chair. The last thing she needed to be worrying about now was Mace turning out to be a traitor.
If the Wild Power business wasn't bad enough. She'd had a fix on the last Power for a long time, a lost witch with unwakened Power. She'd had the parents killed, and one of her spies had been keeping an eye on the girl.
Now the Power had been awakened and the girl was in her possession.
She knew the Daybreakers were on top the girl. They must have agents after her by now. Drake and Sherry should be able to keep her in line without much trouble.
But Drake was being a sullen moody pain in the ass. But that wasn't new. Now something was up with Mace. Asfixia sighed again and opened her eyes. Why did nothing ever turn out for the bad guys?
* * *
Chantal was restless. The whole millennium thing was really starting to get to her. She Had been the spy for the Night World to keep tabs on the Wild Power for six months and so far there had been no problems.
It was Saturday morning and Ivory hadn't come home from the party yet. She had called the house several times but had gotten no answer.
Maybe they'd gone out for breakfast or something. Ivory *had* to be alright. Of course she was.
She kept trying to tell herself this with little success.
If Asfixia found out she'd lost the Wild Power, she'd go ballistic. Asfixia in a bad mood was *not* a good thing. She'd managed to brainwash the parents successfully until the time had come to kill them and get them out the way.
The millennium itself was in less that two weeks. Someone had to find Ivory before then.
A knock on the door got her attention and relief washed over her. She hurried to answer it, wondering if maybe she should just lock the damn girl in her room until Asfixia called for her.
But it wasn't Ivory at the door. It was a beautiful blonde girl that Chantal had never seen before.
"The Power's awakened," she announced.
"Where is she?" Chantal demanded.
"Night World head quarters," the blonde said. "She's apparently seemingly willing enough to join our side."
Chantal smiled. So Ivory wasn't as dumb as she seemed. As long as those damned Daybreakers didn't ruin everything it seemed things were starting to look up for the bad guys.
* * *
Part 17
Thierry sat in his office, staring out the large picture window, showing only an endless black as it was night. He sighed heavily. There was barely two weeks left to the millennium. There was still no word from Alina on how they were doing on finding the Wild Power.
He was getting a sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong.
He stood up and started to pace. What would happen if they *didn't* get the final Wild Power?
~What an optimist you are~ he told himself dryly. Optimism never had been one of his strong points. He should look on the bright side of things. They had the other three Wild Powers, and a lot of other people who were willing to fight for what was right...
But all it took was one for the darkness to destroy it all.
~Four less one~, he thought sourly.
"It's past midnight," Hannah's voice from the door said.
Thierry glanced at her. "It is? I was just thinking."
Hannah smiled faintly and walked over to him wrapping her arms around his waist. He smiled himself, feeling a lot better, holding her closely.
"We'll win," she said with grave determination. "We'll win. We *have* to."
At least someone was confident. He hadn't shared his pessimisms with her or anyone else. "Of course we will," he whispered into her hair.
He just prayed he was telling her the truth.
* * *
Ivory was bored. She was tired of never being let out anywhere unless there were at least four people with her. She hadn't seen Mace since he'd come into her room the other day.
Maybe she should actually take his offer of joining the good guys. It would be better than being stuck here. How did she let Mace know she wanted to go with him?
Ivory walked over to the door and tugged on the door handle. Locked as usual. She sighed and cursed with annoyance. Now what? Mace said he'd come back in a few days. Well it was a few days, or whatever.
Ivory wondered if anyone at home had noticed she was missing. A thought struck her p had her parents known about this? Had they known that Ivory was a Wild Power? Was that why they were killed? Come to think of it, Ivory never remembered a sister when she was growing up. Everything was starting to come clear now - Chantal was a spy for the Night World to bring Ivory in when her blue fire awakened.
~Of course, I could always just be paranoid~ she thought.
But something inside her was telling her maybe she wasn't.
A key turned in the lock. Ivory barely glanced at the door.
"Ivory?" It was Mace.
Ivory felt something like relief. "Get me the hell *out* of here," she hissed.
Mace was surprised, but also looked rather smug. "Come on, let's go. Cost is clear."
Ivory took his hand and they headed out down the corridor. No one was around, and the place was as silent as the grave. "Where is everyone?" she whispered.
"In bed, asleep," Mace answered.
Ivory snorted. "It's barely even night."
Mace chuckled dryly. "They're the bad guys, they behave like good vampires and sleep during the daylight hours, We can get out before they wake up."
Ivory rolled her eyes. Typical. She was getting an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach that this was just a little too easy. She should be pleased she was escaping.
But she wasn't. She didn't know why, but she just wasn't.
* * *
Part 18
Drake couldn't contain himself any longer. His obsession with Ivory hadn't dwindled since the Night World had managed to keep her in their possession, rather it had grown.
The worst thing was, he didn't know *why* he *was* so obsessed with her. Of course, no one else knew. Well, Asfixia was giving him some strange looks, but she didn't know what was really bugging him.
Hell, he didn't even know that. The minute he'd first laid eyes on Ivory Blessingway something had changed.
It was a compulsion, just to be near her. But unfortunately, he couldn't *get* near her very often. But now she was right down the hall.
If he could get her out of here...they could run away together, hide until the battle was over. All the Night World needed was one. For less one, if he remembered the prophecy correctly.
Ivory could be the one, could be his. Then once the damned Daybreakers had been destroyed they could take over the Night World...
He headed out of his room to find Ivory.
* * *
Alina looked up at the forbidding mansion. The pathe had come from Mace about fifteen minutes ago, telling her Ivory wanted to fight for them and not for Night World.
The others were relieved and Tala had insisted on going to the mansion to find Ivory and ace and get them away before the Night People woke up and realised their prize Wild Power was gone.
Even Venus had agreed. Alina didn't understand why she didn't share their enthusiasm. She wanted to be pleased the Wild Power had picked them to fight with. But...
"What's the matter with you?" Tala asked her, sounding rather annoyed.
Alina shook her head. "I don't know."
There were guards standing by the front door, no doubt werewolves around somewhere. Werewolves would be able to smell her out, being human after all. Alina made a face. It had some disadvantages. But still, they could deal with werewolves.
"How exactly do you plan on getting in there?" Venus whispered.
Alina's eyebrow raised. "Me? It was *her* idea."
"What do *you* plan on doing then?" Venus redirected her question to Tala.
Tala just shrugged. "I don't know."
Venus rolled her eyes. "Some leader you are."
Alina sighed, studying the house. "Venus send a pathe out to Mace, tell him I want to know how he's planning on getting out and where he wants us to meet him."
It was all she could think of to do. She knew Venus would just do what she was told.
She folded her arms and waited. A sinking feeling was telling her something was going to go wrong.
* * *
Ivory paced up and down the room she had been locked in. It wasn't a bad room, in fact; it was rather luxurious. Nice big bed, elegant furniture, her own bathroom. At least the bad guys treat their hostages well, she thought dryly.
Or rather, the little voice inside her head was saying, they're nice because they *want* something from you. She wondered vaguely what had happened to Elle, she hadn't seen Elle since they'd left the party.
She now wished desperately she'd actually listened to Alina's warning. Did Alina know that Ivory was this strange, mysterious Power? Had she somehow figured it out and that was why she had been trying to warn Ivory to stay away?
Ivory sighed and sat down on the bed. She didn't know. She wondered if she should use her blue fire to try and blast the door down or something, but even if she did, where would she run afterwards?
She drummed impatient fingers, sick of not knowing what to do. Her eyes moved over to the large window, which was of course locked. She had tired breaking the window with no success.
She stood up and started pacing again, wanting to *do* something, but unsure of what. Before she could decide she heard a key turn in the lock.
Maybe she should just shove whoever it was and make a break for it. She stopped pacing and turned around to face the door, gearing herself up to just run as fast as she could - just get as far away from here as possible - to a phone, at least. There didn't seem to be one in the room.
But her momentum died when the door opened and she saw who it was. Her muscles locked up and her throat went dry. Mace. Who only did what Asfixia Redfern told him to.
Finally Ivory managed to locate her voice as he came inside, shutting the door behind him. "What do you want?"
This guy gave her the creeps. Wasn't mace something you used to spray people who were attacking you with?
"I need to talk to you." His voice was soft as if he didn't want to risk being over heard. He came inside and shut the door behind him.
Ivory moved the other side of the bed and sat down on the couch there. She tried to keep her expression calm and neutral. She didn't want to show he scared her.
Mace remained standing by the closed door. He looked as if he was searching for the right words to use. His vocal skills didn't seem nearly as impressive as the rest of him. Even she couldn't deny he was gorgeous, with those wonderful Nordic looks.
"Did Asfixia send you?" she asked him.
Mace smiled slightly. "No. She doesn't need to know about this."
Ivory's head tilted to one side, purple hair spilling to her shoulders. "I thought you only did what she tells you to do."
Mace made a noise somewhere between a snort and a laugh. "I do a lot of things Asfixia doesn't know about."
Ivory didn't know whether to laugh or not. She didn't feel in a laughing mood so she kept her mouth shut. "You wanted to talk..."
"About something called Circle Daybreak," he answered. His voice was very low.
Ivory frowned. She remembered hearing Tala mention that to someone. She still didn't know what it actually was. "What is it?" she asked.
"It's an organisation like the Night World, only we let humans in to," he explained, folding his arms.
Of course he wasn't human. He was a...she focused on the Power inside her, now she knew it was there, it was something she felt she could do instinctively. If she was a Night Person she should be able to tell what other Night People were...She tried to concentrate on the aura she could see around Mace. Vampire. That wasn't exactly surprising, really.
"You're the good guys?" Ivory guessed.
Mace smiled dryly. "Right And - "
"And you're gonna give me the come join the light speech?" Ivory interrupted with a sigh. Looking at Mace she found it hard to believe he was one of the good guys. He was the Night World leader's body guard for one ting.
Mace gave her another of his dry smiles. They were really starting to irritate her. "Pretty much, I'm a spy for Daybreak," he added.
Ivory was surprised, and impressed. "That was clever," she muttered. A spy for the good guys supposed to be protecting the head of the bad guys. She looked at him. "Why should I join Circle Daybreak?" she asked. "If Asfixia finds out, or we try to leave, we're both dead." She was smart enough to know that much.
For some reason her mind strayed to Drake and how disappointed he'd be if she chose good rather than bad. Ivory pushed the thought away, not sure where it came from, and she decided she didn't want to know.
Mace was frowning. "Asfixia is probably going to kill you anyway. The prophecy says 'Four less one and the darkness with triumph.' So all she needs to do is kill the Wild Power she has in her possession, and the human world is doomed."
Ivory rolled her eyes. She should have realised something like that.
"The vamps will enslave the remaining humans, they'll destroy everything," Mace went on. "Daybreak believe the Wild Powers will stop this, help defeat the darkness. We already have the other three. We need the fourth to win for sure."
Ivory didn't know what to think. It was all too overwhelming for one day. It was finally sinking in that she was a part of this end-of-the-world thing whether she wanted to be or not.
"I'm meeting with some other Daybreakers in a few days," he told her, straightening as if to leave. "I'll come back then." And with those words he left, locking the door behind her.
Ivory sighed heavily. Great. So the fate of the world rested in her hands, and she didn't know which side to choose.
* * *
Sherry frowned watching Mace come out of Ivory's room. Now what was he doing with her?
Maybe it was something she had better find out.
* * *
Part 16
"So Mace was in Ivory's room?" Asfixia asked, tapping her nails on the desk. "Now what would he be doing there?"
Sherry shook her head. "I don't know. She's fine, I checked on her."
"So what's Mace up to?" Asfixia sat back in her chair frowning. They had the last Wild Power. One problem was almost solved. Now Mace was acting strange.
"Just keep your eye on him," she told Sherry.
Sherry nodded and left the office. Asfixia sighed and closed her eyes, sitting back in her chair. The last thing she needed to be worrying about now was Mace turning out to be a traitor.
If the Wild Power business wasn't bad enough. She'd had a fix on the last Power for a long time, a lost witch with unwakened Power. She'd had the parents killed, and one of her spies had been keeping an eye on the girl.
Now the Power had been awakened and the girl was in her possession.
She knew the Daybreakers were on top the girl. They must have agents after her by now. Drake and Sherry should be able to keep her in line without much trouble.
But Drake was being a sullen moody pain in the ass. But that wasn't new. Now something was up with Mace. Asfixia sighed again and opened her eyes. Why did nothing ever turn out for the bad guys?
* * *
Chantal was restless. The whole millennium thing was really starting to get to her. She Had been the spy for the Night World to keep tabs on the Wild Power for six months and so far there had been no problems.
It was Saturday morning and Ivory hadn't come home from the party yet. She had called the house several times but had gotten no answer.
Maybe they'd gone out for breakfast or something. Ivory *had* to be alright. Of course she was.
She kept trying to tell herself this with little success.
If Asfixia found out she'd lost the Wild Power, she'd go ballistic. Asfixia in a bad mood was *not* a good thing. She'd managed to brainwash the parents successfully until the time had come to kill them and get them out the way.
The millennium itself was in less that two weeks. Someone had to find Ivory before then.
A knock on the door got her attention and relief washed over her. She hurried to answer it, wondering if maybe she should just lock the damn girl in her room until Asfixia called for her.
But it wasn't Ivory at the door. It was a beautiful blonde girl that Chantal had never seen before.
"The Power's awakened," she announced.
"Where is she?" Chantal demanded.
"Night World head quarters," the blonde said. "She's apparently seemingly willing enough to join our side."
Chantal smiled. So Ivory wasn't as dumb as she seemed. As long as those damned Daybreakers didn't ruin everything it seemed things were starting to look up for the bad guys.
* * *
Part 17
Thierry sat in his office, staring out the large picture window, showing only an endless black as it was night. He sighed heavily. There was barely two weeks left to the millennium. There was still no word from Alina on how they were doing on finding the Wild Power.
He was getting a sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong.
He stood up and started to pace. What would happen if they *didn't* get the final Wild Power?
~What an optimist you are~ he told himself dryly. Optimism never had been one of his strong points. He should look on the bright side of things. They had the other three Wild Powers, and a lot of other people who were willing to fight for what was right...
But all it took was one for the darkness to destroy it all.
~Four less one~, he thought sourly.
"It's past midnight," Hannah's voice from the door said.
Thierry glanced at her. "It is? I was just thinking."
Hannah smiled faintly and walked over to him wrapping her arms around his waist. He smiled himself, feeling a lot better, holding her closely.
"We'll win," she said with grave determination. "We'll win. We *have* to."
At least someone was confident. He hadn't shared his pessimisms with her or anyone else. "Of course we will," he whispered into her hair.
He just prayed he was telling her the truth.
* * *
Ivory was bored. She was tired of never being let out anywhere unless there were at least four people with her. She hadn't seen Mace since he'd come into her room the other day.
Maybe she should actually take his offer of joining the good guys. It would be better than being stuck here. How did she let Mace know she wanted to go with him?
Ivory walked over to the door and tugged on the door handle. Locked as usual. She sighed and cursed with annoyance. Now what? Mace said he'd come back in a few days. Well it was a few days, or whatever.
Ivory wondered if anyone at home had noticed she was missing. A thought struck her p had her parents known about this? Had they known that Ivory was a Wild Power? Was that why they were killed? Come to think of it, Ivory never remembered a sister when she was growing up. Everything was starting to come clear now - Chantal was a spy for the Night World to bring Ivory in when her blue fire awakened.
~Of course, I could always just be paranoid~ she thought.
But something inside her was telling her maybe she wasn't.
A key turned in the lock. Ivory barely glanced at the door.
"Ivory?" It was Mace.
Ivory felt something like relief. "Get me the hell *out* of here," she hissed.
Mace was surprised, but also looked rather smug. "Come on, let's go. Cost is clear."
Ivory took his hand and they headed out down the corridor. No one was around, and the place was as silent as the grave. "Where is everyone?" she whispered.
"In bed, asleep," Mace answered.
Ivory snorted. "It's barely even night."
Mace chuckled dryly. "They're the bad guys, they behave like good vampires and sleep during the daylight hours, We can get out before they wake up."
Ivory rolled her eyes. Typical. She was getting an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach that this was just a little too easy. She should be pleased she was escaping.
But she wasn't. She didn't know why, but she just wasn't.
* * *
Part 18
Drake couldn't contain himself any longer. His obsession with Ivory hadn't dwindled since the Night World had managed to keep her in their possession, rather it had grown.
The worst thing was, he didn't know *why* he *was* so obsessed with her. Of course, no one else knew. Well, Asfixia was giving him some strange looks, but she didn't know what was really bugging him.
Hell, he didn't even know that. The minute he'd first laid eyes on Ivory Blessingway something had changed.
It was a compulsion, just to be near her. But unfortunately, he couldn't *get* near her very often. But now she was right down the hall.
If he could get her out of here...they could run away together, hide until the battle was over. All the Night World needed was one. For less one, if he remembered the prophecy correctly.
Ivory could be the one, could be his. Then once the damned Daybreakers had been destroyed they could take over the Night World...
He headed out of his room to find Ivory.
* * *
Alina looked up at the forbidding mansion. The pathe had come from Mace about fifteen minutes ago, telling her Ivory wanted to fight for them and not for Night World.
The others were relieved and Tala had insisted on going to the mansion to find Ivory and ace and get them away before the Night People woke up and realised their prize Wild Power was gone.
Even Venus had agreed. Alina didn't understand why she didn't share their enthusiasm. She wanted to be pleased the Wild Power had picked them to fight with. But...
"What's the matter with you?" Tala asked her, sounding rather annoyed.
Alina shook her head. "I don't know."
There were guards standing by the front door, no doubt werewolves around somewhere. Werewolves would be able to smell her out, being human after all. Alina made a face. It had some disadvantages. But still, they could deal with werewolves.
"How exactly do you plan on getting in there?" Venus whispered.
Alina's eyebrow raised. "Me? It was *her* idea."
"What do *you* plan on doing then?" Venus redirected her question to Tala.
Tala just shrugged. "I don't know."
Venus rolled her eyes. "Some leader you are."
Alina sighed, studying the house. "Venus send a pathe out to Mace, tell him I want to know how he's planning on getting out and where he wants us to meet him."
It was all she could think of to do. She knew Venus would just do what she was told.
She folded her arms and waited. A sinking feeling was telling her something was going to go wrong.
* * *