All the characters so far belong to me, except Adularia who belongs to the fantabulous Kiana Caelum. The world, and most of the ideas, of course belong to L.J. Smith - whose books I still can't find. Does anyone know if they've even been printed in Australia??
Other than that, enjoy the story ^_^
"I have a sister?!!!" The scene had been frozen for ten minutes before Lilli managed to squeak that out. "And you didn't tell me? What kind of an aunt are you?"
"What did I just do missy? And for your information I had very good reasons for not telling you." The girl's eyes lit up, "None of which I'm going to disclose right now." Her face fell. But by the set of her jaw - a stubborn look that was identical to her aunt's Zane was amused to notice - this battle was far from over.
"Now," Aunt Solaer started in authoritative tones, "I suggest you restrain from testing your newly acquired powers just yet. Until we can organise some safe way for you to practice, I'd rather not have to deal with anything worse than a few vampires," she said it like an epithet, "being thrown into a wall."
"Hey!" Naturally the boy took offence at that. "And how did you know about that?"
"Honey, I think the whole *world* felt that blast." With a sly grin, "And heard you splutter like an idiot."
Zane's face was beet red by now, his eyes pure silver. But, thinking better than to attack the formidable witch, he stormed out of the house in a righteous rage.
"Vampires. So, girl, how much do you know about yourself so far?"
***
The doorbell rang. One very tired teenage girl groaned, "It's three in the morning. Go back to bed." The intrusion persisted however until she crawled to the front door and opened it.
~?~ Lilli's brain wasn't functional enough to process anything beyond the fact that it seemed like she was staring into a mirror. Granted her simulacrum didn't have tufts of sleep-mussed hair at odd angles, half-closed eyes or wearing an old baggy T-shirt and nothing else, but it was still too much like herself for any coherent thoughts to penetrate the shock.
"Right on cue." ~Does she enjoy jumping out of the dark with some cryptic witticism and scaring us all senseless or something?~ thought the still-mostly-asleep Lilli.
"Yes." Turning to the visitors, "Wren, Loki, come right in. I trust your trip was uneventful?" A slender girl, looking almost exactly like Lilli but with pure silver hair and piercing sky-blue eyes, floated in. She was shadowed by an *enormous* guy, at least seven foot tall with a perfectly sculptured body and a fire on his head. Lilli did a double take. No, that was his hair. It was bright orange at the roots, fading to golden yellow then back to a luminescent red at the tips just below his jaw. She didn't think even the best hair dyes could get those types of colour. ~Who *are* these people?~
Settled in the lounge room cradling mugs of tea, the group traded stories. As it turned out Wren was Lilli's sister, younger by just over a year. She'd been fostered with a family in England - Loki's family - but unlike Lilli, she had grown up knowing of the Nightworld. Loki was her foster brother, he and his family were werewolves.
"But I thought everyone looked down on 'wolves?" Suddenly turning red, "No offence 'n'all."
The boy - she suddenly realised he was a lot younger than he first appeared ~probably only a little older'n me~ she thought with some surprise - shrugged then replied, "It's true. But we're family - of a sort. The connection goes back beyond memory, but it's there."
"Right you are sonny," Aunt Solaer chimed in. "That's why we sent Wren." Looking at her other niece, "However we couldn't send you both - that would have been to invite suspicion. And unfortunately the only other family we could trust were humans, living in Australia. The woman was an Old Soul - used to be my great-grandmother."
"She died when I was three. She used to tell me these great stories - like fairy tales only better -oh."
"Yes, 'oh' indeed. I wondered why you had no idea about us. Nevertheless you know now, which is good enough I suppose. Now, we've all had a long night and will be having an even longer day on the morrow, so I suggest we go to bed. Loki, Wren, I'll show you to your rooms."
They left behind one very confused girl, wondering how her aunt seemed to know so much.
***
He looked about himself thoughtfully. "Hmm, I dunno. Not a bad way to live - it's dry, and food is just a step away," evil grin, "not to mention your bedroom window..... Hey!" That was in reply to the swipe the aforementioned 'food' had taken at his head. "OK, I'll come in - got any food?" The way his face changed in one swift movement from smart-ass to hopeful-little-kid was hysterical and Lilli told him so. She got a death glare for her pains.
***
The being thumped the floor. Startled, her circle looked up at this unprecedented breech of her preternatural calm. In retrospect, one thought, it was really hardly surprising. They'd all seen it - how for a second the spell had failed. The spell they'd spent twenty years creating before the creature of Adularia's prediction was even born. The member shivered. It was more powerful than they'd feared, more powerful than any had thought possible. Truly it was a monster of the dark, as Adularia had told them. At first it had felt pity for the thing - it was merely some little child caught in a snare it could never - for their sakes - know. It had even contemplated freeing it at one stage, but that notion had soon faded. Eventually, everything did. That was the way of the circle - it's gift: ultimate wisdom, it's price: all sensation. The member turned its head, looked into the leader's eyes, and those emotions too faded.
Once the circle had returned to its contemplations Adularia called to one of her minions. ~Lara, this should not have happened. However there may be a way to fix this minor glitch - at least until I can find a way to destroy it! After two millennia of searching one would think a path would have presented itself. However... that aside, is that meddling Venari still around?~
Preserved by unholy powers, both witches hailed from millennia past. They had been peterbed, to say the least, when twenty years previously they had found their old nemesis to be reborn. The fact that they had, at their previous meeting two thousand years ago, torn its soul from its body and placed it in an impregnable cage had - disturbingly - seemed to pose no problem to it in its re-emergence into this dimension.
~Which one, Lady? Since our last meeting with the one called Nefarius, an entire clan seems to have appeared~
~That one. If he lives, find him and bring him here. For all his annoying little vendettas and grudges, he may be of help to us. Go~
***
"So now you're fed and watered, why *are* you here?" Once again the teenagers were lounging in the living room, this time sporting mugs of hot chocolate (mmm...hot chocolate ^_~) .
"Like I said, to see if you'd blown yourself up yet, and to watch the fireworks if I wasn't too late."
"Riight. Sure, I believe you. You really came all this way to see if some girl you hardly know has gone and killed herself? Didn't think you had it in you to care that much about other people."
Bland face "I'm offended you think that!" Reconsidering with a wry smile, "Actually you're probably right. But you're not just any girl are you?" To her raised eyebrows, "Not many people I know can blow me into a wall and glow in the dark. This was a self preservation mission - better to be safe than dead!"
"So the big bad vampire man's scared of little old me? C'mon, why're ya here?" Shaking his shoulder seemed to have as little effect as any other method, but that little voice was telling her he had something important to say.
"Really it's nothing - hey there's not many places round here a guy can get free hot chocolate any more - that's gotta be worth a trek across town for right?" Her look said 'are you for real?'. "Hmph. Didn't think that'd work. But trust me, you really don't want to hear what I've got to say. But the fate of the world depends on it." Looking up, "Why me?!"
"Fate of the world? Oh. Oh dear. What've I done now?"
A sour laugh. "Nothing just yet. But you will, and by god there's gunna be h- " This time it was Wren's turn to look like she'd just tumbled out of bed - which she had. Once again Zane was doing a marvelous impression of a puffer fish, and looking at him Lilli could have sworn someone had put time on hold and just forgotten to tell her about it.
"Ya know I never did believe in love at first sight, but now I'm not so sure." He gave no reply to her sardonic voice. Giving up she waved a hand in front of his face. "Helloooo in there?"
"Wha?" He shook himself as if waking from a dream. "Huh? Oh right, end of the world. Yes. Well." Shaking his head as if to clear it, he began making possibly the worst mistake of his life - but a mistake that would bring so so much to all their lives.
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to be continued
A/N: so it was kinda short... ah well. and pleeeeeaaaaase don't forget to review!