Disclaimers: All Night World characters and concepts belong to LJS. The title is a song by Heather Nova from her album Oyster. This is done purely for fun and no other reason. The characters of Nyx Redfern, Tyra Redfern, Lacey Harman, Cassie Conway, Diamond Blackthorn, and Eros Blackthorn belong to me.
Nyx Redfern wanted to forget who she was. Her past doesn't seem to want to leave her alone. She made a bad mistake and hates being reminded of it. She hides in the small town of Elm Creek, figuring she'll be safe among humans. Until the guy who made her a Redfern and ruined her life comes knocking on her door...
Part 1
300 Years Ago...
The terrified screams of agony rang through the air. The terrible sound sounded like music to Nyx's ear. She laughed as her victim shriek and struggled on the alter before her. Her throaty laughter filled the secluded cave. Candles burned creating twisting shadows in the depths of the cave, barely lighting the pitch black.
It was dangerous times for witchcraft to be performed, hysteria was slowly growing throughout the country of America. Nyx had come from Europe, wondering what this country would be like. Would the victims be easier to find? Was there more power here? So far, she hadn't been disappointed.
She said a few Latin words, held her ornately carved knife high and plunged it into the heart of the screaming victim. The screams were silenced. Warm blood gushed out of the wound. Nyx dipped her fingers in the blood and smeared them over her forehead, muttering in Latin. The blood ran in small streams off the alter into a silver chalice held by one of the other Circle Midnight witches in Nyx's small coven.
Nyx took the chalice and drank a small amount of the blood. She passed it to the next witch, who drank a small amount of blood, she dipped her fingers an and drew a symbol in blood on her forehead. She passed the chalice on, and the next witch did the same. The chalice went around the coven until all six witches had symbols in blood on their forehead.
The sense of power in the room was heightened, and it crawled like bugs along Nyx's skin, tingling with a vile, hidden pleasure that made her shudder, and almost moan. The thrill and high of this ritual was almost erotic.
Nyx stood over the alter again, and the other witches joined her in a final invocation. A sudden bright flare erupted from the group, filling them all with a feeling of power that was too intense, too vivid to describe.
"So the Circle concludes," Nyx finished finally. She could feel her power growing inside her. She smiled. She loved being bad.
* * *
He watched her from the shadows of the cavern. They hadn't even sensed he was there. Tyra smiled to himself, admiring the coven leader, Nyx Abforth. The name Nyx was that of a goddess of the night. How perfectly it suited her.
She really was a goddess. Tall, with hair as black as a crow's wing, eyes, the colour of fire. Her skin was the colour of marble, and as smooth. She was dressed entirely in black, unfashionable and dangerous from the era.
Trya had been around for a long, long time and had seen many, many women. But none compared to this beauty. He wanted her. She would be his before the sun rose.
* * *
"Who goes there?" Nyx had been so obsessed with her spell that she had been foolish enough not to check her surroundings. The others had gone, and she had stayed to clear up. She had felt the burning heat of eyes on her.
The man stepped out of the shadows, into the candle light, revealing himself. He was tall, with dark skin, eyes like black death. He looked like a pirate. He wore black pants, a white shirt, open at the throat, and a red cummerbund round the waste. He was tall and looked strong and powerful.
He reached out to take her hand, bent his head and kissed it. The touch was a warm little thrill that shot over her nerves like fire. "Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you," he said. His voice was deep and mesmerising.
"I wasn't startled," she snapped. "I was surprised. I didn't know there was anyone else here. Who are you?"
"My name is Tyra Redfern." His dark gaze met hers, and she found it impossible to look away.
"Nyx Abforth," she whispered, wondering why she suddenly felt like melting. She had never been seduced so fast.
"Why stick with being a witch?" he whispered in her ear. "Your spell was to steal life-force in vain search for other methods into immortality. But why do it the hard way, when I can give you what you want, so easily, and so much more pleasurably."
"You're offering to make me a vampire?" she whispered. He was a Redfern. He must be powerful. Vampire...more power...she would be immortal...live forever...
He was using some sort of magic on her. Something to control her. But she didn't care. She was so taken with him. He was fascinating. And gorgeous too, and who was she, a mere Abforth, to resist a powerful vampire like this.
Power...it was all about power and glory. And she wanted everything that was coming to her. She deserved this. And if it was being offered to her, why not take it?
"Make me yours," she whispered.
She had no idea at the time she would regret this for the rest of her long, long life.
* * *
200 hundred years ago
Nyx tossed the body to one side, a smile lighting up her face. She'd adapted to her new lifestyle very well. The thrills and joys of vampirism were like nothing she had ever experienced. The hunting, the killing, the pain, the torture of the victims, she sighed dreamily. This was the life.
She looked around the room of the large manor house she and Trya had taken charge of. Everything was rich and luxurious. And to make things absolutely perfect, she had Trya.
Their love was blooming, and as the years passed, he loved her more and more each day. He gave her everything she could ever want, nothing was denied to her.
Trya had a seat on the Night World council. He was as powerful as Hunter Redfern himself. Twice as arrogant, though. But Trya had his ways of making up for being such a bastard.
No matter how much of a pain she was, Nyx knew she loved him and knew she would never be the same without him. He had become her whole world, and nothing else mattered to her but him.
She herself wasn't exactly any better than she had been. She managed to strike fear into the hearts of humans and Night People alike. They knew who she was, and they respected her.
A knock on the door brought her out her reverie. "What?" she snapped.
The door opened, and her servant, a vampire by the name of Eros Redfern answered. She would *not* have a human for a slave. Vermin. She made a face at the thought. But she liked Eros. He had been a handsome boy, golden hair, and nice green eyes. Trya didn't like him at all, and often beat the crap out of him. But Eros was a good servant, at least, to her, he was. He obeyed her every whim and desire. She was the one that had made him a Redfern, something Trya must never find out about.
Eros was looking at the body on the floor, dead eyes staring up at him, blood staining the victim's lace shirt. "Do you want me to dispose of that?" he asked.
Nyx looked up from where she lay on the bed, lounging like a graceful predator, her midnight hair spilling around her. She smiled. "I guess so," she said. She stretched and sighed. "But I'm still hungry. Come here."
Eros frowned, coming closer to the bed. He sat down cautiously. Nyx could feel a faint tremor of fear run through him. She smiled. Fear gave the blood a nicer taste. Vampire blood didn't have the same supernatural essence in it that human blood did, it wouldn't give her the nutrients and things she could get from a human, but it would satisfy her for now, give her some pleasure.
When she reached out to touch his bare arms, she could feel...something in the air. Almost like a shimmering sort of presence. She had felt it when she had changed him, something had been trying to fuse them together, pull them to each other, as if it had wanted to make them one.
But Nyx had been afraid. She hadn't known what it was and hadn't liked it. She had blocked it, used all her telepathic abilities and her witch magic to do whatever she could to stop the connection. For that time, it had worked.
But now...it was back, and her magic didn't seem to be working to stop it. Eros moved closer into her embrace, and Nyx could feel her fangs starting to grow in anticipation of drinking his blood.
Her slender hands gripped Eros's shoulders in a grasp like steel, and she felt him shudder as her teeth went into to his flesh. She tried as hard as she could to keep the telepathic blocks up, but failed miserably.
A white light of some sort was slowly filling their minds, and she could feel herself pulled into his. She could see what he saw, feel what he felt, know what he knew.
~What is this?~ she asked him, terrified. If Trya found out...
~It's the Soulmate connection,~ Eros told her calmly. She pulled her teeth out and looked at him in horror, shaking her head. The white light was still surrounding her. She knew as she was inside his mind, then he was in *hers.*
And that scared her more than anything. He could see her past, how cold she was, how heartless. Before she could stop him, he had wrapped his arms around her shoulder, and kissed her.
Fire flared up her nerves, and around her. She had never felt anything like this with Trya. She didn't stop Eros, she hungered for his touch, the feel of his flesh on hers. Nothing had ever been so blissful...
"Time to rise and shine, my sleeping beauty..."
The voice startled Nyx, shattering her trance. She looked up, pushing Eros away from her, realising Trya stood in the doorway. He stared at the two of them his face twisted in rage and horror.
Power exploded in the room from his fury as he lunged over to the bed, grabbing a chair and breaking it's wooden leg. He yanked Eros off her, and plunged the make-shift stake into his heart. Eros screamed in agony. The light died from his eyes, and as she watched in terror, his entire form seemed to collapse in on itself. His skin went leathery. Trya dropped the body, now nothing more but a bag of old bones.
He turned his seething wrath of anger towards her. A wash of power knocked her out.
* * *
What happened after that, was unclear to Nyx. All she remembered was pain. Pain and fire and hurt, and blood, screams of agony, the smell of fear.
But this wasn't pleasurable. It wasn't herself doing it to one of her victims. It was Trya doing it to *her*. The torture went on for hours, the whips cracking down on her naked back, the pain of boiling water thrown on her, the excruciating burning of being set alight...
Over...she wanted it to be over...it hurt...
Her thoughts strayed to her own victims. Now she realised she knew exactly how they felt, how frightened they had been, how much they had hated her.
She hated herself. She had had no idea it could be so terrible. She could feel darkness filling her mind, and gave into it gratefully.
* * *
When Nyx woke again, everything had stopped. She was alone. She shivered with fear, and looked around. She was still in the torture chamber. It reeked of blood and things she didn't want to think about identifying. She hurt all over.
She struggled to her feet, realising she had been left for dead, or maybe Trya had gotten bored with her and decided to make someone else suffer.
She stumbled up the steps and out into the night, just running, running as far away as she could get. She wanted no connection. She wanted nothing to do with the Night World, not now she had learned the realities of it, not since she had suffered like they made their victims suffer.
But now what? What would she do? Where could she go? She had nothing. She needed help, but who would help her? Then an idea crossed her mind. Of course. How could she have forgotten?
* * *
Present Day.
Nyx walked into school that morning, in a surprisingly good mood. It had taken almost a century, but she had finally gotten over the effects of what Trya had done to her. He was gone now. And she had been safe in Daybreak ever since.
She had been a little nervous that they wouldn't accept her, knowing what she had been, how cruel. But they welcomed her, and she had settled down. Now, she had ventured out into the real world. The world of the twenty-first century fascinated her. Everything was so different that it had been.
She had been moved to a safe house in the small island of Moon Bay. It was a nice town, everything peaceful and homely. She had made friends with the local Daybreakers, Cassie Conaway and Lacey Harman, witches, and vampire Diamond Blackthorn. They sat in the back of the classroom, heads close together, gossiping in whispers.
Nyx joined them, being very unsubtle about it. "What are we whispering about?" she asked cheerfully.
Lacey smiled wickedly, pushing her gold fringe out her eyes. "There's a new boy in school," she said.
"He's hot," Cassie said with a dreamy sigh. "He was in my first period. I sort of dropped my books right in front of him, and he picked them up for me." She and Lacey sighed dreamily.
Nyx looked over at Diamond. "You seen the mystery guy yet?" she asked.
"No," Diamond admitted. She grinned. "But he does sound very yummy."
"Who is he?" Nyx asked.
Cassie and Lacey shrugged. "He's a Redfern, that's all we know."
Nyx frowned, and a vision of a large whip cracking over her bleeding back flew into her mind. She shuddered, and shoved the memory away, trying to think of something else. Her dislike for the Redferns was not unknown.
Cassie frowned. "You okay?"
"Fine," Nyx said quickly.
For some reason, she was getting chills, and it wasn't even cold. Vampires didn't have body temperature, so why was she feeling like this. She could tell her friends knew she was lying about nothing being wrong. She had never told them anything about her past, not wanting to think about it.
She didn't know why, but she wasn't as thrilled by the idea of this "yummy" sounding new boy as everyone else did, and something was telling her to avoid him at all cost. What, she didn't know. But she decided she'd better listen. Her life might count on it.
* * *
That night Cassie and Lacey were sat at a secluded table in the local Black Rose, a circle Daybreak club, a somewhat "nicer" more fun atmosphere that the gothic style Black Iris clubs.
"There's something up with Nyx," Cassie said. Ever since they'd mentioned the new boy that morning Nyx had been acting very strange. She had been out of it, and almost afraid. If anyone touched her, she seemed to jump a mile.
"What?" Lacey asked.
"If I knew would I be asking?" Cassie snorted. "I don't know what."
"She's not telling us something," Lacey said with a frown. Nyx was always very secretive. They knew something bad had happened to Nyx in the past involving the Redferns, but she never talked about it.
"Hey, guys," Diamond said brightly, joining them. You couldn't mistake Diamond Blackthorn for anyone else, with her silvery white hair and silver eyes. She was dressed in black and silver. It seemed silver was Diamond's colour.
But Diamond wasn't alone. She had been joined by a tall guy, with dark skin, and eyes like black death. He was dressed completely in black, and looked like a shadow. But there was something very sexy about him.
"This is Tyra Redfern, he's new in town," Diamond said. "What are we talking about?" She and Trya pulled up chairs.
"Nyx," Cassie said. "There's something wrong with her and we're trying to figure out what."
"Who's Nyx?" Trya said. His voice was deep, and vaguely threatening.
"A friend of ours, Nyx Redfern," Lacey said. She smiled dreamily.
Something about this guy deeply disturbed Cassie. He wasn't as dreamy as she'd thought. He frightened her.
Trya's expression was very strange. It was one of lust, recognition, anger, hatred all combined.
"Do you know Nyx?" Diamond asked.
"From a long time ago," Tyra said.
Cassie looked at Diamond and Lacey, who just shrugged. This was getting very strange.
* * *
Nyx Redfern wanted to forget who she was. Her past doesn't seem to want to leave her alone. She made a bad mistake and hates being reminded of it. She hides in the small town of Elm Creek, figuring she'll be safe among humans. Until the guy who made her a Redfern and ruined her life comes knocking on her door...
Part 1
300 Years Ago...
The terrified screams of agony rang through the air. The terrible sound sounded like music to Nyx's ear. She laughed as her victim shriek and struggled on the alter before her. Her throaty laughter filled the secluded cave. Candles burned creating twisting shadows in the depths of the cave, barely lighting the pitch black.
It was dangerous times for witchcraft to be performed, hysteria was slowly growing throughout the country of America. Nyx had come from Europe, wondering what this country would be like. Would the victims be easier to find? Was there more power here? So far, she hadn't been disappointed.
She said a few Latin words, held her ornately carved knife high and plunged it into the heart of the screaming victim. The screams were silenced. Warm blood gushed out of the wound. Nyx dipped her fingers in the blood and smeared them over her forehead, muttering in Latin. The blood ran in small streams off the alter into a silver chalice held by one of the other Circle Midnight witches in Nyx's small coven.
Nyx took the chalice and drank a small amount of the blood. She passed it to the next witch, who drank a small amount of blood, she dipped her fingers an and drew a symbol in blood on her forehead. She passed the chalice on, and the next witch did the same. The chalice went around the coven until all six witches had symbols in blood on their forehead.
The sense of power in the room was heightened, and it crawled like bugs along Nyx's skin, tingling with a vile, hidden pleasure that made her shudder, and almost moan. The thrill and high of this ritual was almost erotic.
Nyx stood over the alter again, and the other witches joined her in a final invocation. A sudden bright flare erupted from the group, filling them all with a feeling of power that was too intense, too vivid to describe.
"So the Circle concludes," Nyx finished finally. She could feel her power growing inside her. She smiled. She loved being bad.
* * *
He watched her from the shadows of the cavern. They hadn't even sensed he was there. Tyra smiled to himself, admiring the coven leader, Nyx Abforth. The name Nyx was that of a goddess of the night. How perfectly it suited her.
She really was a goddess. Tall, with hair as black as a crow's wing, eyes, the colour of fire. Her skin was the colour of marble, and as smooth. She was dressed entirely in black, unfashionable and dangerous from the era.
Trya had been around for a long, long time and had seen many, many women. But none compared to this beauty. He wanted her. She would be his before the sun rose.
* * *
"Who goes there?" Nyx had been so obsessed with her spell that she had been foolish enough not to check her surroundings. The others had gone, and she had stayed to clear up. She had felt the burning heat of eyes on her.
The man stepped out of the shadows, into the candle light, revealing himself. He was tall, with dark skin, eyes like black death. He looked like a pirate. He wore black pants, a white shirt, open at the throat, and a red cummerbund round the waste. He was tall and looked strong and powerful.
He reached out to take her hand, bent his head and kissed it. The touch was a warm little thrill that shot over her nerves like fire. "Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you," he said. His voice was deep and mesmerising.
"I wasn't startled," she snapped. "I was surprised. I didn't know there was anyone else here. Who are you?"
"My name is Tyra Redfern." His dark gaze met hers, and she found it impossible to look away.
"Nyx Abforth," she whispered, wondering why she suddenly felt like melting. She had never been seduced so fast.
"Why stick with being a witch?" he whispered in her ear. "Your spell was to steal life-force in vain search for other methods into immortality. But why do it the hard way, when I can give you what you want, so easily, and so much more pleasurably."
"You're offering to make me a vampire?" she whispered. He was a Redfern. He must be powerful. Vampire...more power...she would be immortal...live forever...
He was using some sort of magic on her. Something to control her. But she didn't care. She was so taken with him. He was fascinating. And gorgeous too, and who was she, a mere Abforth, to resist a powerful vampire like this.
Power...it was all about power and glory. And she wanted everything that was coming to her. She deserved this. And if it was being offered to her, why not take it?
"Make me yours," she whispered.
She had no idea at the time she would regret this for the rest of her long, long life.
* * *
200 hundred years ago
Nyx tossed the body to one side, a smile lighting up her face. She'd adapted to her new lifestyle very well. The thrills and joys of vampirism were like nothing she had ever experienced. The hunting, the killing, the pain, the torture of the victims, she sighed dreamily. This was the life.
She looked around the room of the large manor house she and Trya had taken charge of. Everything was rich and luxurious. And to make things absolutely perfect, she had Trya.
Their love was blooming, and as the years passed, he loved her more and more each day. He gave her everything she could ever want, nothing was denied to her.
Trya had a seat on the Night World council. He was as powerful as Hunter Redfern himself. Twice as arrogant, though. But Trya had his ways of making up for being such a bastard.
No matter how much of a pain she was, Nyx knew she loved him and knew she would never be the same without him. He had become her whole world, and nothing else mattered to her but him.
She herself wasn't exactly any better than she had been. She managed to strike fear into the hearts of humans and Night People alike. They knew who she was, and they respected her.
A knock on the door brought her out her reverie. "What?" she snapped.
The door opened, and her servant, a vampire by the name of Eros Redfern answered. She would *not* have a human for a slave. Vermin. She made a face at the thought. But she liked Eros. He had been a handsome boy, golden hair, and nice green eyes. Trya didn't like him at all, and often beat the crap out of him. But Eros was a good servant, at least, to her, he was. He obeyed her every whim and desire. She was the one that had made him a Redfern, something Trya must never find out about.
Eros was looking at the body on the floor, dead eyes staring up at him, blood staining the victim's lace shirt. "Do you want me to dispose of that?" he asked.
Nyx looked up from where she lay on the bed, lounging like a graceful predator, her midnight hair spilling around her. She smiled. "I guess so," she said. She stretched and sighed. "But I'm still hungry. Come here."
Eros frowned, coming closer to the bed. He sat down cautiously. Nyx could feel a faint tremor of fear run through him. She smiled. Fear gave the blood a nicer taste. Vampire blood didn't have the same supernatural essence in it that human blood did, it wouldn't give her the nutrients and things she could get from a human, but it would satisfy her for now, give her some pleasure.
When she reached out to touch his bare arms, she could feel...something in the air. Almost like a shimmering sort of presence. She had felt it when she had changed him, something had been trying to fuse them together, pull them to each other, as if it had wanted to make them one.
But Nyx had been afraid. She hadn't known what it was and hadn't liked it. She had blocked it, used all her telepathic abilities and her witch magic to do whatever she could to stop the connection. For that time, it had worked.
But now...it was back, and her magic didn't seem to be working to stop it. Eros moved closer into her embrace, and Nyx could feel her fangs starting to grow in anticipation of drinking his blood.
Her slender hands gripped Eros's shoulders in a grasp like steel, and she felt him shudder as her teeth went into to his flesh. She tried as hard as she could to keep the telepathic blocks up, but failed miserably.
A white light of some sort was slowly filling their minds, and she could feel herself pulled into his. She could see what he saw, feel what he felt, know what he knew.
~What is this?~ she asked him, terrified. If Trya found out...
~It's the Soulmate connection,~ Eros told her calmly. She pulled her teeth out and looked at him in horror, shaking her head. The white light was still surrounding her. She knew as she was inside his mind, then he was in *hers.*
And that scared her more than anything. He could see her past, how cold she was, how heartless. Before she could stop him, he had wrapped his arms around her shoulder, and kissed her.
Fire flared up her nerves, and around her. She had never felt anything like this with Trya. She didn't stop Eros, she hungered for his touch, the feel of his flesh on hers. Nothing had ever been so blissful...
"Time to rise and shine, my sleeping beauty..."
The voice startled Nyx, shattering her trance. She looked up, pushing Eros away from her, realising Trya stood in the doorway. He stared at the two of them his face twisted in rage and horror.
Power exploded in the room from his fury as he lunged over to the bed, grabbing a chair and breaking it's wooden leg. He yanked Eros off her, and plunged the make-shift stake into his heart. Eros screamed in agony. The light died from his eyes, and as she watched in terror, his entire form seemed to collapse in on itself. His skin went leathery. Trya dropped the body, now nothing more but a bag of old bones.
He turned his seething wrath of anger towards her. A wash of power knocked her out.
* * *
What happened after that, was unclear to Nyx. All she remembered was pain. Pain and fire and hurt, and blood, screams of agony, the smell of fear.
But this wasn't pleasurable. It wasn't herself doing it to one of her victims. It was Trya doing it to *her*. The torture went on for hours, the whips cracking down on her naked back, the pain of boiling water thrown on her, the excruciating burning of being set alight...
Over...she wanted it to be over...it hurt...
Her thoughts strayed to her own victims. Now she realised she knew exactly how they felt, how frightened they had been, how much they had hated her.
She hated herself. She had had no idea it could be so terrible. She could feel darkness filling her mind, and gave into it gratefully.
* * *
When Nyx woke again, everything had stopped. She was alone. She shivered with fear, and looked around. She was still in the torture chamber. It reeked of blood and things she didn't want to think about identifying. She hurt all over.
She struggled to her feet, realising she had been left for dead, or maybe Trya had gotten bored with her and decided to make someone else suffer.
She stumbled up the steps and out into the night, just running, running as far away as she could get. She wanted no connection. She wanted nothing to do with the Night World, not now she had learned the realities of it, not since she had suffered like they made their victims suffer.
But now what? What would she do? Where could she go? She had nothing. She needed help, but who would help her? Then an idea crossed her mind. Of course. How could she have forgotten?
* * *
Present Day.
Nyx walked into school that morning, in a surprisingly good mood. It had taken almost a century, but she had finally gotten over the effects of what Trya had done to her. He was gone now. And she had been safe in Daybreak ever since.
She had been a little nervous that they wouldn't accept her, knowing what she had been, how cruel. But they welcomed her, and she had settled down. Now, she had ventured out into the real world. The world of the twenty-first century fascinated her. Everything was so different that it had been.
She had been moved to a safe house in the small island of Moon Bay. It was a nice town, everything peaceful and homely. She had made friends with the local Daybreakers, Cassie Conaway and Lacey Harman, witches, and vampire Diamond Blackthorn. They sat in the back of the classroom, heads close together, gossiping in whispers.
Nyx joined them, being very unsubtle about it. "What are we whispering about?" she asked cheerfully.
Lacey smiled wickedly, pushing her gold fringe out her eyes. "There's a new boy in school," she said.
"He's hot," Cassie said with a dreamy sigh. "He was in my first period. I sort of dropped my books right in front of him, and he picked them up for me." She and Lacey sighed dreamily.
Nyx looked over at Diamond. "You seen the mystery guy yet?" she asked.
"No," Diamond admitted. She grinned. "But he does sound very yummy."
"Who is he?" Nyx asked.
Cassie and Lacey shrugged. "He's a Redfern, that's all we know."
Nyx frowned, and a vision of a large whip cracking over her bleeding back flew into her mind. She shuddered, and shoved the memory away, trying to think of something else. Her dislike for the Redferns was not unknown.
Cassie frowned. "You okay?"
"Fine," Nyx said quickly.
For some reason, she was getting chills, and it wasn't even cold. Vampires didn't have body temperature, so why was she feeling like this. She could tell her friends knew she was lying about nothing being wrong. She had never told them anything about her past, not wanting to think about it.
She didn't know why, but she wasn't as thrilled by the idea of this "yummy" sounding new boy as everyone else did, and something was telling her to avoid him at all cost. What, she didn't know. But she decided she'd better listen. Her life might count on it.
* * *
That night Cassie and Lacey were sat at a secluded table in the local Black Rose, a circle Daybreak club, a somewhat "nicer" more fun atmosphere that the gothic style Black Iris clubs.
"There's something up with Nyx," Cassie said. Ever since they'd mentioned the new boy that morning Nyx had been acting very strange. She had been out of it, and almost afraid. If anyone touched her, she seemed to jump a mile.
"What?" Lacey asked.
"If I knew would I be asking?" Cassie snorted. "I don't know what."
"She's not telling us something," Lacey said with a frown. Nyx was always very secretive. They knew something bad had happened to Nyx in the past involving the Redferns, but she never talked about it.
"Hey, guys," Diamond said brightly, joining them. You couldn't mistake Diamond Blackthorn for anyone else, with her silvery white hair and silver eyes. She was dressed in black and silver. It seemed silver was Diamond's colour.
But Diamond wasn't alone. She had been joined by a tall guy, with dark skin, and eyes like black death. He was dressed completely in black, and looked like a shadow. But there was something very sexy about him.
"This is Tyra Redfern, he's new in town," Diamond said. "What are we talking about?" She and Trya pulled up chairs.
"Nyx," Cassie said. "There's something wrong with her and we're trying to figure out what."
"Who's Nyx?" Trya said. His voice was deep, and vaguely threatening.
"A friend of ours, Nyx Redfern," Lacey said. She smiled dreamily.
Something about this guy deeply disturbed Cassie. He wasn't as dreamy as she'd thought. He frightened her.
Trya's expression was very strange. It was one of lust, recognition, anger, hatred all combined.
"Do you know Nyx?" Diamond asked.
"From a long time ago," Tyra said.
Cassie looked at Diamond and Lacey, who just shrugged. This was getting very strange.
* * *