Part 6
It had taken Chalice Harrison almost five weeks, but she had finally tracked her down.
She knew that Candika was there, somewhere. Something must have happened to make her lose her memory, some sort of magic or something, or she would have started asking questions by now.
At the time of the fire that had killed their parents Chalice herself had been out, and fearing the thought of foster homes, or being shuffled off to distant relatives she knew nothing about, she had run.
Luckily for her, Circle Daybreak were able to help her find somewhere to stay. But she hadn't been able to take Candika with her.
As twins, they had always been unusually close, Chalice could almost feel her sister's distress, and it had been mainly that and some other factors that had driven her to not rest until she'd found her sister and made sure she was safe.
A Daybreak assassin, she had been on an assignment in Moon Bay when she had seen Candika and a 'wolf being attacked by Night People. Angry, she had run to help, but then the 'wolf girl had taken care of the Night People.
Candika had no idea about their heritage at the time, and had left before Chalice had even gotten near her. But now she *knew* that Candika was here, she could devote her time to finding her again.
She had figured her best bet was to try the local high school. School was over for the day, but a large number or students were still hanging around as she made her way towards the main reception.
She was about to go and ask for her sister's locker number or if they could tell her an address when she heard a voice.
"Candika?"
Chalice turned to see the wolf girl who must be a friend of Candika's. Maybe this girl knew who she was. Chalice shook her head. "Not exactly."
The girl looked confused. "Huh? But you..."
"I'm her twin sister, Chalice," Chalice said. "Who are you?"
"Susan Acevado."
"Do you know where I can find Candika? Will she have left already?"
Susan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could try her locker, or her last class."
Chalice nodded and followed Susan down the halls, seeming empty and echoing with only a few students dotted around. The numbers seemed to have dwindled.
"Hey, there she - ooh, that's bad."
Chalice turned to see Susan pointing just down the hall, where Candika and a guy were walking in the other direction from them. Chalice frowned. "And why is that bad? Who's he?"
Susan explained. Chalice listened, feeling dismay rising. "That's bad," she agreed.
"You think? Now what?"
"We follow them and find out what's going on."
Chalice was getting a prickling feeling telling her something was going to go wrong.
* * *
Part 7
Ara glared at them, absolutely furious, more at Darrien than anything. What the hell was the stupid asshole thinking? Why would he want a vermin half-breed when he could have her? She was pure Redfern.
Where as little wimpy vermin Candika was half *human*. Surely forbidden as well, half humans couldn't be allowed. They were worse than regular vermin.
Tainted. Un-pure. A waste of space and time. A species that needed to be wiped out.
"Now then," she said, inspecting long sharp, blood red nails. "Why should I not kill the pair of you?"
"Because it isn't fair!" Candika protested. "You can't kill us just because you're pissed off that I'm his soulmate and you're not!"
Ara glared at her, still unable to believe it. Soulmates? They really seemed to believe that too. She sighed. It was sad, really. Pathetic. "Life's a bitch, isn't it?" she said with a smirk.
"So are you," Darrien muttered, folding his arms and staring sullenly at her.
Ara just smiled at him. Why complain? He had a point, for once.
"You can't kill us here at school, anyway," Darrien said, straightening, smirking a little. "Too many possible witnesses."
Ara didn't say anything. He was right, again of course. She glanced out the classroom door to see a group of tough-looking people arriving. She smiled. "My backup are here."
Candika and Darrien exchanged glances. Ara gestured vaguely. "Now they will be more than happy to shoot you all now, so I suggest you get moving," she said cheerfully.
She followed the group out the school and to the waiting van. She sighed, it was too bad she was going to have to dispose of Darrien. Killing him would be fun, enough.
* * *
Candika didn't bother trying to fight or doing anything as Ara's lackeys marched them to a white van waiting outside the school. She looked around, hoping that someone would be there and get suspicious.
But most of the students were gone now, and no one was hanging around the parking lot. She sighed, sitting down on the cold floor as the van's doors were locked. The engine started and they zoomed off, heading where, Candika didn't know.
She noticed Darrien still looked moody, and about as pissed off as Ara had. She glared at him. "This isn't my fault," she snapped. "I never asked for this. What's your problem?"
Darrien glared back at her. "This is your fault," he muttered, clearly annoyed, "And the problem is I know that if you die, I'll never be the same."
Candika was surprised. She hadn't expected that. This soulmate thing was very confusing. She didn't know if she loved him or hated him yet. He was certainly one of the most infuriating people she had ever met.
"That's the thing about soulmates," Darrien continued sullenly. "You can hate each other - but still know you'll never be the same without the other half."
Candika felt a little insulted. "Do you hate me?" she asked.
Before he could answer the van stopped. They hadn't been travelling for very long. The door opened. Ara glared. "*I* hate you," she sneered.
Candika snorted. "I figured that," she said sourly.
When the and Darrien left the van she was surprised to see that Ara had taken them back home. What was the point of that?
Ara glared at Darrien. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she snapped as she marched them inside. "How can you love vermin?"
Darrien didn't answer. He just stared sullenly ahead, not looking at either Candika or Ara, and not answering them either.
Ara led them into the lounge and made them sit on the couch. Her expression had suspiciously brightened. "There's an easy solution to the problem, of course," she said.
Candika snorted. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
She produced a long wooden stake from by the side of the arm chair she'd sat down on. She handed it to Darrien, fixing him with a stunning smile. "Kill her."
* * *
Part 8
Candika stared at Darrien, holding the stake, her heart pounding in her throat. He looked evenly back at her, his expression rather blank. Ara was smirking at her.
"Come on," she whispered to Darrien. "She's *vermin*. What do you want with her? The Night World officials are just gonna hunt you down."
Darrien didn't move. Candika stood there, waiting. Would he do it? He couldn't. They were soulmates. He said himself if anything happened to her he would never be the same again...
She stared at him, her eyes pleading.
* * *
Darrien stood there, listening to Ara whispering in his ear, how Candika was just vermin, it was against the law to love her, the Night World would kill him.
Did he care? He looked at the girl standing before him, blood red hair, shimmering violet eyes, right now pleading him not to do it.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his words died on his tongue. If he didn't kill her, then Ara would kill them both.
He could feel a fine tremor overtaking his body. He had never felt like this before, he was always in total control of himself, and a girl had made him feel unsure.
And even worse...he didn't give a damn that she was half human.
Before he could do anything, a rush of activity startled him. The door burst open and two figures were running in, one of the figures was changing shape...becoming a wolf...and the other...the other was Candika...
Huh? What the hell was going on?
There was a blur of motion, he dropped the stake and hurried to Candika's side. She looked just as confused as he did. They stood together watching the two figures dispose of the Night People.
When it was over the wolf shifted back to human, revealing herself as that Susan person from school. He was more confused by the second version of Candika.
"This may sound kind of cliché, but what the hell is going on?" he demanded.
* * *
Candika just stared, not sure what to do. She was staring to think maybe werewolves weren't as bad as they sounded as Susan and a second figure burst in and started slaughtering the Night People.
But what was even more confusing...another figure who looked like her...
But...she *had* seen that figure before somewhere, but where? What had happened before the fire that had killed her family? She had had...
"Chalice?" she whispered.
Chalice yanked her stake out of Ara and turned to face Candika. "You...remember?"
Candika nodded, and embraced her twin. The effects of what had happened to her must have had some sort of negative consequences that made her mind slightly fuzzy. She hadn't really focused on her family, thinking it was too painful.
For the third time, a plaintive voice interrupted, and Candika turned to Darrien, who was demanding to know "What the hell is going on?"
"This is my sister," Candika told him.
He blinked. "Sister?" Then his lip curled and his eyebrow raised. "Could be fun."
Candika elbowed him. "Jerk," she muttered. "Why couldn't I have been given a less arrogant soulmate?"
Susan was staring at them in utter disbelief. "You two are *soulmates*?"
"I didn't ask for it," Darrien muttered sullenly.
"So now what?" Chalice asked.
Susan smiled slightly. "I think we all know the answer to that one."
Darrien groaned. "I can't believe this is happening to me."
"What's so bad about Daybreak, anyway?" Candika asked.
Chalice grinned. "Nothing, just snotty vamps like Darrien don't see there's more to it than the general principles."
It sounded like a good idea to Candika. She could learn about her new powers, and be accepted for who she was, without being chastised for being half human. She had her sister back, and a new soulmate too, which would be fun, along with the possibility of new friends.
Sometimes happy endings did happen, and this certainly seemed like one.
THE END.
It had taken Chalice Harrison almost five weeks, but she had finally tracked her down.
She knew that Candika was there, somewhere. Something must have happened to make her lose her memory, some sort of magic or something, or she would have started asking questions by now.
At the time of the fire that had killed their parents Chalice herself had been out, and fearing the thought of foster homes, or being shuffled off to distant relatives she knew nothing about, she had run.
Luckily for her, Circle Daybreak were able to help her find somewhere to stay. But she hadn't been able to take Candika with her.
As twins, they had always been unusually close, Chalice could almost feel her sister's distress, and it had been mainly that and some other factors that had driven her to not rest until she'd found her sister and made sure she was safe.
A Daybreak assassin, she had been on an assignment in Moon Bay when she had seen Candika and a 'wolf being attacked by Night People. Angry, she had run to help, but then the 'wolf girl had taken care of the Night People.
Candika had no idea about their heritage at the time, and had left before Chalice had even gotten near her. But now she *knew* that Candika was here, she could devote her time to finding her again.
She had figured her best bet was to try the local high school. School was over for the day, but a large number or students were still hanging around as she made her way towards the main reception.
She was about to go and ask for her sister's locker number or if they could tell her an address when she heard a voice.
"Candika?"
Chalice turned to see the wolf girl who must be a friend of Candika's. Maybe this girl knew who she was. Chalice shook her head. "Not exactly."
The girl looked confused. "Huh? But you..."
"I'm her twin sister, Chalice," Chalice said. "Who are you?"
"Susan Acevado."
"Do you know where I can find Candika? Will she have left already?"
Susan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could try her locker, or her last class."
Chalice nodded and followed Susan down the halls, seeming empty and echoing with only a few students dotted around. The numbers seemed to have dwindled.
"Hey, there she - ooh, that's bad."
Chalice turned to see Susan pointing just down the hall, where Candika and a guy were walking in the other direction from them. Chalice frowned. "And why is that bad? Who's he?"
Susan explained. Chalice listened, feeling dismay rising. "That's bad," she agreed.
"You think? Now what?"
"We follow them and find out what's going on."
Chalice was getting a prickling feeling telling her something was going to go wrong.
* * *
Part 7
Ara glared at them, absolutely furious, more at Darrien than anything. What the hell was the stupid asshole thinking? Why would he want a vermin half-breed when he could have her? She was pure Redfern.
Where as little wimpy vermin Candika was half *human*. Surely forbidden as well, half humans couldn't be allowed. They were worse than regular vermin.
Tainted. Un-pure. A waste of space and time. A species that needed to be wiped out.
"Now then," she said, inspecting long sharp, blood red nails. "Why should I not kill the pair of you?"
"Because it isn't fair!" Candika protested. "You can't kill us just because you're pissed off that I'm his soulmate and you're not!"
Ara glared at her, still unable to believe it. Soulmates? They really seemed to believe that too. She sighed. It was sad, really. Pathetic. "Life's a bitch, isn't it?" she said with a smirk.
"So are you," Darrien muttered, folding his arms and staring sullenly at her.
Ara just smiled at him. Why complain? He had a point, for once.
"You can't kill us here at school, anyway," Darrien said, straightening, smirking a little. "Too many possible witnesses."
Ara didn't say anything. He was right, again of course. She glanced out the classroom door to see a group of tough-looking people arriving. She smiled. "My backup are here."
Candika and Darrien exchanged glances. Ara gestured vaguely. "Now they will be more than happy to shoot you all now, so I suggest you get moving," she said cheerfully.
She followed the group out the school and to the waiting van. She sighed, it was too bad she was going to have to dispose of Darrien. Killing him would be fun, enough.
* * *
Candika didn't bother trying to fight or doing anything as Ara's lackeys marched them to a white van waiting outside the school. She looked around, hoping that someone would be there and get suspicious.
But most of the students were gone now, and no one was hanging around the parking lot. She sighed, sitting down on the cold floor as the van's doors were locked. The engine started and they zoomed off, heading where, Candika didn't know.
She noticed Darrien still looked moody, and about as pissed off as Ara had. She glared at him. "This isn't my fault," she snapped. "I never asked for this. What's your problem?"
Darrien glared back at her. "This is your fault," he muttered, clearly annoyed, "And the problem is I know that if you die, I'll never be the same."
Candika was surprised. She hadn't expected that. This soulmate thing was very confusing. She didn't know if she loved him or hated him yet. He was certainly one of the most infuriating people she had ever met.
"That's the thing about soulmates," Darrien continued sullenly. "You can hate each other - but still know you'll never be the same without the other half."
Candika felt a little insulted. "Do you hate me?" she asked.
Before he could answer the van stopped. They hadn't been travelling for very long. The door opened. Ara glared. "*I* hate you," she sneered.
Candika snorted. "I figured that," she said sourly.
When the and Darrien left the van she was surprised to see that Ara had taken them back home. What was the point of that?
Ara glared at Darrien. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she snapped as she marched them inside. "How can you love vermin?"
Darrien didn't answer. He just stared sullenly ahead, not looking at either Candika or Ara, and not answering them either.
Ara led them into the lounge and made them sit on the couch. Her expression had suspiciously brightened. "There's an easy solution to the problem, of course," she said.
Candika snorted. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
She produced a long wooden stake from by the side of the arm chair she'd sat down on. She handed it to Darrien, fixing him with a stunning smile. "Kill her."
* * *
Part 8
Candika stared at Darrien, holding the stake, her heart pounding in her throat. He looked evenly back at her, his expression rather blank. Ara was smirking at her.
"Come on," she whispered to Darrien. "She's *vermin*. What do you want with her? The Night World officials are just gonna hunt you down."
Darrien didn't move. Candika stood there, waiting. Would he do it? He couldn't. They were soulmates. He said himself if anything happened to her he would never be the same again...
She stared at him, her eyes pleading.
* * *
Darrien stood there, listening to Ara whispering in his ear, how Candika was just vermin, it was against the law to love her, the Night World would kill him.
Did he care? He looked at the girl standing before him, blood red hair, shimmering violet eyes, right now pleading him not to do it.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his words died on his tongue. If he didn't kill her, then Ara would kill them both.
He could feel a fine tremor overtaking his body. He had never felt like this before, he was always in total control of himself, and a girl had made him feel unsure.
And even worse...he didn't give a damn that she was half human.
Before he could do anything, a rush of activity startled him. The door burst open and two figures were running in, one of the figures was changing shape...becoming a wolf...and the other...the other was Candika...
Huh? What the hell was going on?
There was a blur of motion, he dropped the stake and hurried to Candika's side. She looked just as confused as he did. They stood together watching the two figures dispose of the Night People.
When it was over the wolf shifted back to human, revealing herself as that Susan person from school. He was more confused by the second version of Candika.
"This may sound kind of cliché, but what the hell is going on?" he demanded.
* * *
Candika just stared, not sure what to do. She was staring to think maybe werewolves weren't as bad as they sounded as Susan and a second figure burst in and started slaughtering the Night People.
But what was even more confusing...another figure who looked like her...
But...she *had* seen that figure before somewhere, but where? What had happened before the fire that had killed her family? She had had...
"Chalice?" she whispered.
Chalice yanked her stake out of Ara and turned to face Candika. "You...remember?"
Candika nodded, and embraced her twin. The effects of what had happened to her must have had some sort of negative consequences that made her mind slightly fuzzy. She hadn't really focused on her family, thinking it was too painful.
For the third time, a plaintive voice interrupted, and Candika turned to Darrien, who was demanding to know "What the hell is going on?"
"This is my sister," Candika told him.
He blinked. "Sister?" Then his lip curled and his eyebrow raised. "Could be fun."
Candika elbowed him. "Jerk," she muttered. "Why couldn't I have been given a less arrogant soulmate?"
Susan was staring at them in utter disbelief. "You two are *soulmates*?"
"I didn't ask for it," Darrien muttered sullenly.
"So now what?" Chalice asked.
Susan smiled slightly. "I think we all know the answer to that one."
Darrien groaned. "I can't believe this is happening to me."
"What's so bad about Daybreak, anyway?" Candika asked.
Chalice grinned. "Nothing, just snotty vamps like Darrien don't see there's more to it than the general principles."
It sounded like a good idea to Candika. She could learn about her new powers, and be accepted for who she was, without being chastised for being half human. She had her sister back, and a new soulmate too, which would be fun, along with the possibility of new friends.
Sometimes happy endings did happen, and this certainly seemed like one.
THE END.