Disclaimer: The Night World is the property of L.J. Smith as are any of the characters you recognise like Thierry, Hannah, Keller, Lupe etc.
Spoilers: All of the Night World books especially Witchlight as this story occurs at the same time as Witchlight.
Author's notes: Thanks to Water Angel, Greeneyes, me and Mandy, I'm glad you like the story. Thank you so, so much for the reviews, I really can't thank you all enough but believe me it is greatly appreciated.
Part 9.
When Des woke the next morning the house was empty, she presumed that the others had all gone hunting. She dressed quickly taking a minute to grimace at herself in the mirror as she combed her long auburn hair. She made her way to the kitchen to make breakfast so she'd be ready when the others got back. They were all going to school with Winema, she wondered how their presence would be explained, no doubt Gwern would do something to the minds of the teachers. Just the thought of mind control made her feel sick to her stomach, made her remember. She pushed the bowl of cereal away from her and began to think about who could be trying to kill Winema and what she was going to do, would she join Daybreak and move into a safe house or continue living here. Des was only doing it to push back the memories but now she really wanted to know. Thierry had never given them specific instructions other than to protect her.
Gwern was back first and Des couldn't help but notice the uncanny beauty that feeding gave him. There was a sort of shimmering light in his eyes and his black hair stood out starkly against his pale skin. She tried to ignore him but somehow just couldn't seem to manage it.
^Fine,^ she thought, ^Lets do this once and get it over with.^ So she turned and gazed at him unabashed, studied him. She knew he noticed her doing it and she felt a little embarrassed but it didn't matter he knew how attractive she found him, of course he did. Then she had always found the blond hair and golden eyes of the other one attractive too and look how that had turned out.
Gwern felt Des's eyes on him, what was she doing? She was just staring at him, he didn't like it, it made him feel way too uncomfortable. "Stop," he snapped at her.
"Fine," she replied getting out of the chair and heading for the door.
"You'd better not mess up today," he said to her retreating back.
Winema strode through the corridors extremely conscious of the attention her protectors were attracting, so much for inconspicuous protection. Des wasn't so bad she seemed to blend in pretty well but the two boys stuck out like sore thumbs. Every girl in the school seemed to be checking them out. Winema had expected as much, there was never much excitement in their tiny high school and a severe dirth of anything resembling a half-decent male so the appearance of two gorgeous guys was always going to attract attention.
"Hey Winema," Elissa Green called to her.
Winema wrinkled her nose in disgust, the girl couldn't be any more obvious, she never spoke to Winema, never. ^I wonder why she's suddenly so happy to see me,^ Winema thought sarcastically.
Des recognised the pretty girl from the cafe approaching Winema. She watched as she fluffed her peroxide blond hair talking to Winema but looking past her to the two boys. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?" she asked.
"Sure," Winema said, "this is Icarus, Gwern and Des. Guys this is Elissa."
Gwern could see the disgusted look Des gave the girl talking to Winema. He smiled seeing a chance to piss her off. Even though the thought of having to spend a minute talking to this airhead revolted him he took her up on her offer of a tour of the school.
"Is she a friend of yours?" Des asked Winema after Gwern and Icarus left with Elissa.
"No, that's the first time she's talked to me in weeks."
"Well at least she took Gwern off our hands for a while, she has no idea what she's unleashed upon herself," Des said with a smile. "So what torture session do you and therefore we have first?"
"English," Winema replied smiling back, she couldn't help but like Des. She was really nice and seemed like a kindred spirit even if she was a little subdued and depressed. Winema had no idea why Gwern had such a problem with her.
"So English, that's on the second floor right?" Des said thinking of the map of the school Icarus had shown her the night before.
"Yeah, should we wait for the boys?"
"I don't know, I mean the left you alone with me so obviously they don't think anything's going to happen here, they wouldn't have left you alone with the human if they did, believe me they wouldn't. Do you think someone's going to attack you on you're way to English? They have a copy of your schedule, I'm sure they'll find us and you don't want to be late do you?"
"Are you using me to get Gwern mad?" Winema asked.
"Is it that obvious?" Des asked with a laugh.
"Yep but okay, I don't mind being used for such a worthy cause."
Des laughed loudly and happily and followed Winema towards the stairs.
Gwern and Icarus came into Winema's English class 5 minutes late. Des bit back a smile as Gwern had to explain to the teacher who they were and why they were late, it didn't take long and the teacher seemed strangely forgiving.
"Wonder why," Des thought, "Gwern couldn't be working his mind control, no."
Icarus took a seat next to Des and she smiled at him. He wasn't sure she'd be so happy when Gwern finished with her. Gwern was really, really angry with her, Icarus had had to listen to him complaining about her all the way to class. As used as he was to Gwern and his ways he didn't really understand what his problem with Des was, if he'd been the one who was left alone with Winema he wouldn't have waited around. ^Maybe he likes her,^ Icarus thought with a grin, ^nah not even Gwern would treat a girl he liked like that.^
At lunchtime Gwern entered the cafeteria first followed by Des and Winema with Icarus taking the rear. He scanned the room and was surprised to see Des doing the same thing, looking at the same danger areas as him. He chose the table closest to the exit. Winema and Icarus sat beside each other on one side of the table and Gwern found himself sitting next to Des. She looked at him with deep brown eyes and he could feel the connection spring between them.
~Sorry,~ her voice said in his head.
~No wait,~ he thought, ~don't go,~ but she had already left his mind closing down the connection.
She wouldn't even look at him for the rest of lunch and the Elissa girl didn't help. She appeared at the table half way through lunch and started flirting with him. She obviously couldn't tell when she was not wanted; he hated girls like her. ^Since when?^ a snide little voice said in his head, ^she seems pretty similar to all the girls you've been dating lately. Why the sudden change of type to girls with long auburn hair and deep brown eyes? It couldn't be that you're in love with a certain human who happens to be your soulmate, your one and only, could it?^
Gwern wondered if everyone found their inner voice so annoying. ^I am not in love with her,^ he thought, ^I hate her, I even told her so. Then why did you want her to stay in your mind?^ he asked himself. ^I wish I knew,^ was the only reply he could come up with.
The rest of Monday had been quiet, too quiet Gwern thought. It wasn't like Night World agents, if it was Night World agents who were after Winema, to sit around doing nothing, they had to be planning something. That made him anxious and jumpy, Icarus was used to him in this mood but Winema and Des just kept getting on his nerves.
"Why aren't they doing anything?" he snarled Tuesday morning as he paced around the kitchen.
"Maybe they're concentrating on the wild power," Des suggested from her perch on the worktop.
"I thought about that but I think it's something else."
"What?" Des asked gently, interested.
"I think they're planning something, vague I know but it's all I can come up with."
Des smiled at him, "Now I see why you guys are Daybreak's second best team."
"Hey," he said with a laugh.
He found himself smiling at her and she grinned back. Des was glad Gwern had taken her joke as just that, a joke, he had a nasty habit of taking things the wrong way.
"Des," he said softly.
She had to look away, no this wasn't happening, not now, not ever.
Gwern felt a wave of sorrow as Des turned away from him, for perhaps the first time they were having a friendlyish conversation and he had thought it might mean something, hoped it might mean something.
Des sat at the kitchen table reading a book for English, she figures she may as well keep up with her work while she was here and her teacher had been more than willing to give her her assignments. Icarus and Winema were watching television in the living room and she didn't know or care where Gwern was. She was trying to start the question her teacher had set her when the phone rang shrilly cutting off her train of thought. As she got out of the chair the phone stopped and Gwern came into the kitchen. The phone rang again breaking the uncomfortable silence between them.
"Circle Daybreak," Gwern announced.
^Really,^ she thought, ^you don't say.^ Then said aloud, "I'll call back."
Gwern turned away and headed for the fridge, human food wasn't exactly nutritious for him and he wasn't sure if the food Des bought was nutritious for anyone but it sure tasted good. He heard a crash behind him and turned to see Des had dropped the phone.
Des couldn't understand it her hand just wouldn't hole the phone, her muscles and fingers just relaxed and let the phone fall to the ground. She couldn't believe what Paulie told her, it couldn't be true, it couldn't be.
Gwern bent and picked up the phone, "Paulie, what's wrong?"
Des let out a loud sob, she couldn't help it. She felt so sad, Grandma Harman dead, she couldn't believe it. She remembered the old woman; her steely grey lavender flecked eyes, wise eyes. She was the wise woman of Circle Daybreak, the oldest of the Harman witches, the Crone, they needed her. How could someone just end her life like that? She turned to Gwern; his face was so vulnerable, so sad. She threw herself into his arms seeking the only comfort she'd be able to find. She buried her head into his chest and felt his arms close around her as he hung up the phone.
He stroked her hair and whispered to her, "It's okay, it's okay sweetheart, it's okay."
"No it's not, it will never be okay," she replied softly.
A dam broke somewhere in her and tears came hot and furious. Tears not just for Grandma Harman but tears she had never been able to cry for her family and through it all Gwern supported her, held her and made her feel safer and more secure than she'd ever felt before.
Des woke up with Gwern's arm around her, their bodies close together. She smiled softly; it felt so good to be with him. Nothing had happened between them that night, after they told Icarus and Winema Gwern had carried her to her bedroom. He had put her on the bed and stood up to go but she had held him tighter. "Don't go," she had whispered. He had just held her gently and let her cry in his arms. He hadn't tried anything and she felt extremely grateful to him for that.
Gwern felt the tension come into Des's body that told him she had woken up. He tightened his hold around her body. He remembered how sad, vulnerable and just grief-stricken she had been the night before, he had been sad too but not like that and for the first time in his life he cared more about what someone else was feeling and comforting them than himself. She felt so warm against him and she smelt so good. He knew last night hadn't been the right time to try anything but maybe now.
Des felt Gwern's lips moving on her bare shoulder. She felt warmth radiate from his lips and flow down her body. She felt the sparks, the flame, the connection, and the fire in her veins running through her with a heat and passion. It felt so good, his hair brushed against her skin causing a shiver to run down her body. He stopped kissing her suddenly. ^Oh,^ she thought, ^I don't want him to stop.^
She heard him laugh in her mind, ~I don't want to stop,~ his voice said cool and happy in her head.
"I love you Des," he said out loud into her hair.
Love, love she didn't believe in love but he sounded so sincere, he sounded like he meant it, maybe just maybe. Then he began to kiss her again, on her neck and her throat and she remembered what he was, a vampire like the other. He was using her like the other, lying to her saying the same things, not meaning any of it.
She turned in his arms and pushed him away. "Get away from me," she snarled.
"Des," he said softly.
"No," she said, "I'm not listening, get away from me."
"If that's what you want," he replied softly sliding out of the bed.
Des felt tears sliding down her face and a lump form in her throat, she wanted him back, to feel his arms around her and she wanted him as far away from her as possible.
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