Disclaimer: I own nothing related to L.J. Smith or any of her books. I hope everyone likes this part of my fic. Oh, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed it so far. You guys are awesome. Thanks bunches.
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Alyx picked up the red apple off the tray and examined it. Two large nasty brown bruises covered one side of the fruit. Alyx wrinkled her nose in distaste and replaced the apple on the tray before moving on down the lunch line. It always amazed her that the university could make her pay so much for tuition and yet they couldn't even manage to sell fruit in good condition in the cafeterias.

Just two more years of this, she thought, grabbing a bag of chips off the counter. Then I can forget all about the horrors of college food.

Alyx moved to the nearest cash register and waited as the tired worker slowly rang her chips and soda up. The lady had bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in a long time and she stood somewhat bent over, as if she were carrying an unbearable weight around with her. Maybe she's been having nightmares too, Alyx thought as she thanked the lady and moved away in search of a table to sit at.

The nightmares had started a few weeks before. The same one every night. A guy, about her age, perhaps a bit older, would come to her in her dreams. He would promise her things like riches and good fortune. All she had to do was swear she would be his.

It sounded like a pretty good deal to Alyx. She had never had much, especially after her parents had abandoned her and she had been thrown into the steely grasp of social services. And she had to admit that the guy was pretty handsome. His dark brown hair was just a bit long. It fell into his eyes when he whispered to her in her dreams. And his dark brown eyes seemed to pierce her very soul every time he looked at her.

Something about him, though, scared her. It seemed as if danger surrounded him, enveloping him in its midst. Alyx knew that she always felt fear in her dream. He would smile at her and hold out his hand and then she would feel it. It would seep into her system slowly and then engulf her. It would make her start to remember memories of things long forgotten from her childhood. But, in her reoccurring nightmare, she was never able to grasp the full meaning of what those memories were. Just when she would be ready to remember it all, things would change.

And the boy in her dream would get angry. His eyes would all the sudden seem too cold and perhaps evil. He would snatch his hand away from her and start yelling. The wind always picked up at that point in her dream. It always felt as if she were in the middle of a tornado all of the sudden and all she could see was his face, a cruel smile twisted on his lips.

She always woke up with sweat beads sitting on her brow and his words ringing in her head. And she knew without a doubt that those words were the last ones that the boy in her nightmare had said. You will be mine.

Every night for the last few months, Alyx had been having the nightmare. Always the same one every night. She wished she could get it out of her head, but she couldn't figure out how to do it.

Alyx found a table and sat down there. She opened her bag of chips and thrust one into her mouth. She munched happily, watching as fellow students rushed from here to there, trying in vain to get food and get to their class on time.

"Mind if I sit here?" a voice to her right side asked. Alyx turned and smiled. It had been so long since she had seen this particular friend last.

"Oh Jen. Please sit down," she replied and watched as the older girl sat down across from her.

"So how are you doing?" Alyx asked cautiously. She knew her friend had had a rather rough last semester.

Jen smiled almost shyly. "I'm okay," she replied. "Doing much better now."

Alyx smiled. Jen had been the first person that Alyx had met on campus her freshman year. Alyx had been wandering around the building looking for her psych class, but she was having no luck locating the room that the class was supposed to take place in. Alyx had turned a corner in the hallway and ran straight into Jenny. She had been so embarrassed, but Jenny had taken the whole thing in stride. Jenny had even showed Alyx where her psych class was meeting.

After that, the two became fast friends. They still hung out and did stuff together. It didn't matter that there was a four year difference between them. And three years later, they were still good friends. That's why it was such a shock when Alyx found out that Jen had left college before completing her masters in education. She had not even known that Jen had been thinking of leaving. But, then Alyx had found out the real reason for Jenny's leaving.

It was good to see her friend back at college after leaving rather abruptly the semester before. It must have been so hard on her, Alyx thought with sympathy. And Jen's experiences of the semester before had really taken a toll on the girl. The girl that sat before her was not the Jenny that Alyx had met her freshman year. Oh no, that Jenny had been full of life. This Jenny was quiet and withdrawn.

"Do you still work at The Pit?" Jen asked as she moved her eyes to rest on Alyx.

"Oh definitely," Alyx responded. "The only place I can get CD's so cheap."

Jen smiled and watched as Alyx popped another chip in her mouth and started crunching away.

"I'm working tonight if you want to stop by and check out our new stuff. We just got a shipment in yesterday."

"Maybe I will," Jenny replied, her smile fading a bit. "I have to get to class now. I'll see you around?"

"Sure," Alyx said quietly and she watched as Jenny stood up and moved away from the table as if in a trance of some sort. Man, she really took Tom's death hard, Alyx thought sadly.

......................................................

He was wearing the same outfit that he had been wearing the last time he had come to the mortal world. Black jeans covered the lower part of his body like a second skin. He was wearing a tight white tee-shirt on his chest, covered by a black leather vest. He couldn't help but smile when he noticed the snake tattoo that curled around his wrist. It seemed that Ezra had thought of everything.

Let the game begin, he thought wryly.

Julian stood in front of the music store and sighed. It wouldn't be so hard, he knew. All he had to do was go in there, get Alyx and go back to the Shadow World. Nothing to it. Easy task. Game won.

He looked at the big neon sign above the building. The Pit, it read. Julian almost smiled. It had been so long since he had seen Alyx last and he wondered what she looked like.

He opened the door to the store and walked in.

.......................................................

Jenny had had a hard day at school. It was hard for her to get back into the swing of things after she had been out for so long. If everything had not happened to her the previous semester...........

She sighed and closed her eyes. It was still hard to believe that Tom was not going to be there anymore. She couldn't just call him up anytime she felt like it and talk as they had in the old days. She couldn't just go visit him at his college, because she knew he would not be there. He was gone forever.

They had dated for so long. And she had truly fallen in love with Tom. So many perfect years had gone by. It was just that, after a while everything started to fall apart for them. After the last game with Julian, Tom had never been the same. He would snap at Jenny for no reason or not even talk to her at all. He constantly looked over his shoulder as if he feared the Shadow Men were coming after him personally.

But, the biggest thing of all was that he could not understand why Jenny mourned when Julian's name was cut out of the runestave. Julian had been their evil tormentor, their nemesis. So why did Jenny mourn for him? And, Tom had wondered, why did Jenny still wear that ring that Julian had given her? The words 'I am my only master' might have been inscribed on the inside of the band, but it had come from Julian all the same. Jenny had tried many times to explain to Tom that Julian had been special to her in his own way, but Tom would not even listen. And how could Jenny blame him? After a while, Jenny had stopped trying to explain.

They had gone to college then, hoping that the distance between them would make them realize how much they loved each other. It only made things worse. It hadn't taken Tom too long to meet other girls and want out with his relationship to Jenny. Jenny never tried to convince him to stay with her. She wanted out as badly as he did.

They did stay friends, though. That much of their relationship, they were able to salvage. It was tense at times, but they always worked through it. They might not have loved each other anymore, but there was still a friendship bond between them.

And then the unthinkable had happened last semester. Tom had gone out with some friends. They had gotten into a car accident and Tom had died from such a severe head trauma. When Jenny found out, she was devastated. She didn't eat or drink for days. Her whole world seemed to have fallen apart. She even dropped out of college.

But, now she was back, trying desperately to make up for the time she had lost. But, it was hard. So hard.

Jenny glanced up at the neon sign before entering the store. She smiled a ghostly smile as she read the name of the popular music store. Maybe Alyx will give me her employee discount, she thought as she opened the door and walked inside.

.......................................................

Julian stood behind a rack of CDs. He peered around the edge of the rack at the girl who was sitting on the floor of the next aisle. Her back was turned to him, but he could hear her humming to the music that played in the background of the store's interior. An open box full of magazines sat next to her. Every once in a while, the girl would reach into the box and lift a pile of magazines out. Then she would check them off the list she held in her hand and then place them carefully on the low shelf in front of her. Julian had been watching her do this for many minutes now.

She did not know he was there, as he had been extremely quiet when coming up behind the CD rack. She was completely oblivious to the fact that someone was watching her. Then again, Julian was an expert at watching people without their knowing. How long had he watched Jenny before revealing himself to her?

Julian smiled as he heard Alyx softly sing some of the words to the song playing in the store. She lifted some more magazines out of the box and checked them off her list. Her dark brown hair fell forward over her shoulder and she unconsciously flicked it back behind her. She placed the magazines on the shelf and stood.

The smile disappeared from Julian's lips and he took a step back, hiding himself more behind the rack of CDs. How was he ever going to be able to take her back to Ezra? It should be an easy task, Julian knew. If he had been the same old Julian as before, he would have been able to fulfill Ezra's request without any problem. But, he was different now. He could feel; Jenny had taught him how to do that. He could tell that Alyx was happy. So, why should he take her away from her life and give her to Ezra, who would inevitably treat her poorly?

Because if you don't, she will die, a voice in his head reminded him. And you will die too.

Julian shook his head, trying to clear such thoughts from his mind. Of course he had to take her back. There was no other choice, for both of their sakes. He closed his eyes for a minute and whispered a few ancient words. Then he opened his eyes and watched Alyx. She did not move, but stood staring at the rack in front of her as if studying her work. Julian knew what had really happened, though. The ancient words had been powerful ones. Their control had fallen over the young girl almost immediately, capturing her under their influence. Julian knew she would not move now. All he had to do was concentrate and she was his for the taking.

Julian took a step away from the CD rack, allowing himself to be seen without any place to hide.

She was right in front of him; just a few steps away. All he had to do was reach out and touch her arm. Just get a grip on her arm and he could take them both back to the Shadow World. It would be so easy.

Julian took another step forward and reached out slowly, waiting for his fingers to make contact with the cloth of Alyx's shirt. Just grab her and we will go, his mind commanded him.

Just a few more inches.

The bell at the front of the store rang as someone entered the store. He hadn't expected the noise and was not exactly sure where it came from. Julian pulled his arm back as if a snake had bitten him. He gasped as he realized that his concentration had been broken by that single noise.

Julian looked back at Alyx and saw to his dismay that she was already coming out of the slight trance that the ancient words had kept her in. She shook her head and raised a hand to her forehead as if she were confused as to how she had gotten there.

Quickly, Julian rushed behind the CD rack again, praying that Alyx had not noticed him behind her. He watched from behind the rack as she shook her head again and then looked around as if she were wondering what had just happened. It's better that you do not know just yet, Alyx, Julian thought.

"Alyx?" Someone called from the front of the store and Julian's blood ran cold. He recognized that voice, didn't he? No, he thought desperately. It could not be.

Alyx perked up at the sound of the voice and she smiled. "I'm over here," she called and then started walking down the aisle she was in, away from Julian.

Julian watched her go and then followed her slowly. He had to see who the voice belonged to. He had to convince himself that he had heard it wrong, that his mind was playing tricks on him. After all, Jenny could not possibly be so close to him.

He slowly walked up the aisle as if he were a panther stalking prey. Julian could hear Alyx talking to another girl at the front of the store and he longed to see the other girl's face. He only needed to see that it was not Jenny that Alyx was talking to and then he could get back to the business of winning the game Ezra had set before him.

Julian reached the end of the aisle and peered around the corner, expecting to see anyone other than the girl he had loved so much in the past.

His heart fell to the floor, though, when he saw her. She looked pretty much the same, except her hair was a bit shorter than he remembered it. But, her figure was still thin and graceful as it had always been. She looked as beautiful as he remembered. But, there was something in her eyes that had not been there the last time he had seen her. Where fire had raged so often at him from their depths, lay only ashes now. And as he looked closer at her face from his view behind the row of CD's, he realized how tired she looked.

"Jenny," he whispered too softly for most mortals' ears to pick up.

...........................................

Alyx was talking to her, telling her how happy she was that Jenny had come to the store. Jenny smiled and tried to concentrate on what the younger girl in front of her was saying. But it was hard because Jenny was having the strangest feeling. She felt as if something.......she wasn't sure what...........something was waiting for her in the store. She knew it sounded silly, but she could feel something there. She had felt it as soon as she had walked in the door but it had not been so strong. As Alyx had stood talking with her, though, the feeling had gotten stronger. What was it, she wondered.

Jenny looked around her.

"What? What is it?" Alyx said, breaking off her speaking to look at Jenny oddly.

"Did you hear that? Someone called my name," Jenny said, looking around for who could have called out to her.

Alyx laughed softly, a bit uncomfortable. "I didn't hear anything," she admitted. Truly, she had not heard any noise at all. She searched her friend's face, trying to decide whether she should worry or not.

"Are you okay?" Alyx asked softly.

Jenny looked back at her friend. "I...I am fine. Look, I should be going home. I just wanted to stop in and say hi."

She pulled her jacket tighter around her and tried to smile. Jenny didn't want her friend to worry about her too much, but the feeling she had since entering the store was even stronger now. And it scared Jenny a bit. Plus, she could have sworn that someone had called out her name. But, Alyx had not heard a thing. The whole thing was just too weird for Jenny and she thought hat perhaps she was just a bit tired. That's all, she consoled herself. Nothing to worry about. I'll go home and take a nice long nap and feel better.

"I'll call you later, okay?" Alyx said softly.

Jenny nodded and tried smiling again, this time succeeding. "Thank you," she said to Alyx and then walked out of the store.

Alyx watched her leave and then closed her eyes for a minute in contemplation. She was so worried about Jenny! But what could she possibly do? Alyx knew that the only demons Jenny was fighting were her own. And Jenny needed to fight them alone.

Alyx opened her eyes and sighed. She would call Jenny later and talk to her. She would tell Jenny how she was worried about her. And she would tell Jenny for the millionth time that she was there for her and if there was anything she could do........

Alyx turned away from the door, intent on getting back to her work. She did not notice as Julian slipped out of the aisle behind her and headed for the door. He opened the door quickly and walked out of the store into the falling light of evening, ignoring as the little bell over the doorway sounded again.

Ezra will just have to wait, he thought. There is something to do that is a bit more important right now. Julian just hoped that Jenny had not gotten too much of a head start on him. He didn't want to lose her now.

Alyx turned around, readying herself to welcome a prospective customer to the store. After all, they should have been right behind her because the bell had rung on the door. But, when she turned around, no one was there.


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