Disclaimer: I own nothing L.J. Smith related. I only own Alyx and Ezra.
Note: I am sorry it took me so long to get this next chapter out. I had finals at school and then I went on vacation for two weeks. Okay, well, now I am back to continue this story.
Thank you to everyone who has read this fic and reviewed so far.
Don't forget to review.
Ezra sat up straight in his black high-backed leather chair, his arms resting on the arm rests lightly. His fingers curved over the rests, but did not grip them tightly. To grip them tightly would show that he was stressed, but Ezra did not feel that way at all. In fact, he was having fun. Thus the small smile that curved the corners of his mouth upwards.
His eyes were closed, but
he could still see so well. In fact,
sometimes Ezra was convinced that he saw things better with his eyes closed
than open. In such a case, Ezra was
more apt to pay attention to what was going on, to focus on the small details
that his eyes treated him to. That is,
of course, when he was looking at things in another world.
His brow furrowed as he
concentrated. It was so very important
to concentrate hard during the first few minutes in order to receive the
picture you were looking for. If his concentration
was wrecked even once, Ezra knew, he would have to go back to the beginning and
start all over again. And he did not
want to do that. He was already late
for his two dates of the night.
Small pinpricks of light
appeared and started to glow. They
glowed brighter and brighter, reminding Ezra of the sun that he craved so
badly. Oh, to be able to live without
the shadows! To bask in the warm glow
of the sun. It was every Shadow Man's
dream. Yet, Ezra also knew it was out
of every one of their reaches.
The small dots of light
started to grow now and move. They
weaved their way into and through one another, making one giant ball of
light. The ball grew fast and formed
something new. Images flashed across
Ezra's closed lids. Their colors
swirled this way and that, making the picture before him seem distorted at
times. Ezra waited patiently. He was used to the images acting in such a
manner. They always did so for a few
short minutes before finally settling and coming into clear focus. And then, Ezra thought, the real fun begins.
The first image was
starting to focus, its colors slowly fading into their rightful places. More coherent shapes formed and settled into
their own places. And after a few more
seconds, the whole image came into focus.
And Ezra smiled. He always felt a bit giddy at this
part. It was his favorite part, where
he could take such an innocent glimpse into another world and see what its
inhabitants were doing. Of course, in
his case, the glimpse into the other world was never very innocent. And Ezra would be the first one to admit
that too.
Tonight, he had plans for
his time in the other world. He knew
exactly what he wanted to do. It would,
of course, be the first time that he would talk to her in person. Usually, he simply sent her the same dream
over and over again. But, Ezra was
growing impatient fast. He wanted Alyx
with him in the shadows now. He was
tired of waiting. And why should he
wait? It had never been his custom to
allow people to make up their own minds as to what they wanted to do. They always did what he wanted. There was never any wasting of his time as
there was now.
It was all because the
situation with Alyx was different. She
was a pawn. They all were pawns. But, she was one of the biggest ones of
all. Sure, he wanted her with him. She would be a light to his darkness. She would be able to show him a bit of the
light that he craved so much. But, she
had a greater purpose as well.
Ezra could have chosen
any girl from the mortal realm to be his light. But, in Alyx he had seen something different. He had seen the future. He had seen how she would grow into a lovely
young woman and how, ultimately, she would lead to Julian's greatest
downfall. After all, Alyx would lead
Julian to his precious Jenny. And seeing
Jenny again would bring back all the hurt and pain that had killed Julian
before. It all was enough to make Ezra
smile broadly.
He had always wanted
Julian to fall, even when they were younger. Julian had once called him friend, but Ezra had always called Julian
enemy. He was the only one in the way
of Ezra being the leader of the Shadow Men. But, that had been taken care of when Jenny had come along. Julian had been so darn gallant-so gentleman-like-,
Ezra sneered as he remembered how the whole ordeal had happened, to allow his
fellow Shadow Men to take him instead of Jenny. And Ezra had seen his chance. He had been the one to whisper the suggestion of taking Julian out of
existence. And he had stood back and
watched as one leader fell and he became the one to take charge.
But, he had never seemed
to forget the way that Julian had always acted so superior to him, as if
he were better than Ezra. And when that
stupid girl had come along, Ezra thought, Julian had forgotten who he was, what
he was. So, now Ezra was teaching
Julian a lesson. He would show Julian
what it was like to feel pain, to stand in the shadows forever. Ezra had planned the entire time for Julian
to see Jenny again when Julian went to fetch Alyx. It was all so perfect because Ezra knew Julian would see a new
Jenny before him. And seeing the new
Jenny would kill Julian. It would break
him to see her so hopelessly lost and know that he could not do anything to
help her. After all, she would probably
hate him after the whole ordeal he had put her through before. And when it got to that point, Ezra would be
there, watching and laughing as Julian fell again. And, of course, Ezra thought, I will then show him how to bend to
my every command.
It was very nice to have
power, Ezra knew. And with that
thought, his smile grew even more as he concentrated on the picture before
him. I am already late, he
thought. I can't keep my lady waiting
any longer.
…………………………………………………
Alyx was so glad that her shift was
over. Her back ached and her feet
screamed to rest. She had been stocking
shelves and waiting on customers for days now it seemed like. In reality, of course, it had been mere
hours. All she wanted to do was clean
up and go home. Maybe a good long
shower would make her feel better. And then she could crawl into bed and read a
good chapter or two from her literature book for class tomorrow.
Or, she thought as she
rounded the main counter to reshelf some CD's that someone had discarded by the
register, I could forget about reading and just go to sleep. She was behind on the story as it was
already. Two more chapters behind was
not going to kill her. She would just
have to spend a couple hours reading on the weekend to catch up.
But, the thought of
simply falling asleep and succumbing to her dreams made her stop walking and
contemplate it all for a minute. There
was always a chance that she might dream that dream again. And see him again. Alyx didn't like him at all. He frightened her to the extreme with the
way that he seemed to be so cold and dangerous. She just wished that she could stop dreaming about him.
Alyx sighed and resumed
her walk to the CD rack. Slowly, she
put the CD's away in the rightful places. It was just a dream, she reasoned in her mind. It wasn't anything to really worry about. After all, it wasn't like the guy could hurt
her or anything like that.
The little bell on the
door to the store rang out and Alyx groaned. She mentally berated herself for not locking the door at closing
time. Every time she forgot to, some
college kid would wander in, hoping to peruse the CD's and tapes for a few
minutes. Alyx hated that because then
she had to wait for them to finish before she could lock up and leave.
As she turned to see who had come into the
store, she ignored the little voice in the back of her head that insisted that
she had locked the door at closing time.
Alyx had turned half of
the store lights off fifteen minutes prior to closing time just to let the
customers in the store know that they would be closing soon. It was store policy and it worked well most
of the time. But, Alyx wished that she
had forgotten to turn off the lights because she couldn't see the face of the
person standing just inside the door to the store.
He was tall and dressed
in all black. He made no motion to
move, just simply stared at her as if waiting for her to make the first move.
Alyx almost groaned
again. She didn't have time for this
tonight. Not when her feet and back
were aching and she really needed to get home and read her darn literature
book. Tonight was just not the night
that she needed this to happen.
"Sorry, we're closed.
You'll have to come back tomorrow," she said and turned back around to finish
placing the remaining CD's on the shelf. There, she thought. He'll leave
now. After all, her turning her back on
him should have been a sign that he had been dismissed. And Alyx waited to hear to familiar sound of
the bell over the doorway jingle as he left.
"I will only take a
minute of your time," he said from his stance inside the doorway.
Alyx froze, her hand
halfway to the CD shelf. That
voice………it sounded so familiar to her. It was low and cool, as if it were being patient with her. But, underneath it all, there was an edge to
it, as if that patience would not last forever.
As hard as she tried, she
could not place the owner of it.
"No," she said, suddenly
aware that her hands were shaking, "You have to leave now. We are closed."
"But you are still here
and I shall be also," the boy protested.
Alyx slowly set the last
CD on the shelf and turned to face the boy again. "Look, don't make me call the cops, okay? Just leave now and I won't call them."
The guy inside the door
chuckled. "Ah yes," he said with heavy
sarcasm dripping from his words. "The
mighty law enforcement."
She had wanted to scare
him, to make him think that she had a bit more power than he did. After all, who wanted to be arrested for
hassling a store cashier? But, the way
he had laughed at her threat only made her hands shake even more. She felt out of control in this situation
and she had never felt that way before. Never before had someone come in and acted as if they were in charge as
this guy did now. A cold trickle of
fear weaved its way down her spine.
Why oh why hadn't she
locked the door at closing time?
You did, her mind
screamed. You did lock it.
Alyx took a step back
behind her and then another. Would she
have to try to outrun this guy? The
nearest phone was in the office, at the very back of the store. She knew that she would have a head start on
the guy if she took him by surprise. But, the outline of his lean body told her that he could probably outrun
her to the office. He could probably
catch her and-----
"Look, I…..what do you
want?" She asked, her voice shaky. She willed herself to sound strong, as if
she still had control over the situation. Inside, she felt the fear grow. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
The guy was silent for a
minute as if he were sizing her up. And
then he spoke, a few cool words rolling off his tongue. "I came to give you a gift."
He reached out slowly and
held up a long stemmed back rose. Alyx
hadn't seen him holding the rose before and she vaguely wondered for a second
where he had gotten it. It hadn't been
in his hand just seconds ago, had it?
"If you take my gift, I
will leave," he said, making the proposal of his gift even more appealing.
He took two steps
forward, closing a bit of the space between Alyx and himself. It was funny, though, she thought vaguely,
how the lights that were still on in the store never seemed to touch his
face. She still could not see his face
even as he moved closer to her.
Alyx wanted to run. She wanted to get to the office in the back
of the store and call the police. But
her feet seemed to be stuck to the floor. As hard as she tried, she could not move a single inch away as the guy
came closer to her.
She almost choked on her
fear as he reached her. She whimpered a
slight plea to leave her alone. Cruel
thoughts raced through her mind. Would
he only give her his gift or would that not be enough for him? Alyx had always thought that she could
handle situations like this. She always
thought that she could fight her way out of them. But, she hadn't counted on her being scared stiff.
Slowly, the guy reached
out one hand and touched her shoulder. At his insistence, she turned, praying that he would leave soon. She was facing the back of the store now and
she could see the door to the office clearly. All she had to do was run fast. She had to break free of his grasp and run fast. But, his hand was still on her shoulder,
holding her in place.
Alyx tried to be
brave. She tried not to shake or show
her fear, even as he curled his arm around her waist and pressed the black rose
into one of her hands. Then he leaned
in close to her, so that his breath tickled her ear. "Sweet dreams, Alyx," he said and then let go of her completely.
Alyx turned around, ready
to fight. She could feel the adrenaline
pumping inside of her all of the sudden, ruling out the fear. She turned, ready to show this sick person
who was in charge. But……………
He was not there
anymore. She was alone again in the
store.
She raced to the front
door, and locked it up tight. And then
she leaned against it, tears forming in her eyes. Alyx looked down at the black flower in her hand. It seemed so…….. evil to her. She threw it onto the floor, glad to get the
awful thing out of her hands.
And as she walked on
shaky legs to the office in the back of the store, four words echoed in her
head.
You will be mine.
………………………………………………….
Ezra leaned back in his
chair and smiled. He was having as much
fun as he thought he would have. He had
enjoyed seeing the look of pure fear in Alyx's eyes as he had walked closer to
her in the store. She had tried to act
brave, but he had seen the fear within her eyes. It had made him feel powerful. He liked the fact that he had that effect on her, that he could scare
her. Ezra wanted her to understand that
he would win their little game. And
yes, even the dreams he had been sending her had been part of the game. It was all part of the game- a game that
Ezra was slowly getting tired of playing.
He wanted something new,
something a bit more challenging. He
knew in the end he would have Alyx as his own. That's just the way it was. Yet,
Ezra wanted a game where the stakes were a bit higher. He wanted to play a game in which the
chances of him winning were just a little bit smaller. Then the victory would be even sweeter.
With Alyx, he had almost
ended the game right then in the store that night. He had almost grabbed her and dragged her back to the Shadow
world with him. His first idea in
giving her the rose was to capture her. As soon as she came close enough to touch the rose, he was going to take
her back to the Shadow world. But, then
he had remembered Julian.
Julian has to bring her,
Ezra thought slyly. Then Julian can
blame himself when he hears her screams. It was all part of the bigger game that Ezra was playing. And this game he loved. It was the game of torturing Julian as much
as was possible. After all, Ezra would
have done anything to see Julian fall over and over again.
So, he had not grabbed
Alyx that night. But, it was no
matter. He had given her the rose and
she had accepted it. Granted, she had
accepted his little gift out of fear, but that was only a minor detail. The fact still remained that she had held
the rose in her hand and had thus linked herself to Ezra even more. He had held out the bait to her and she had
taken it easily. Now all he had to do
was reel her in.
But, all that could
wait. Ezra was more pressing matters on
his mind now. He closed his eyes again
and focused. Again the swirling colors
and shapes came. And again it took them
a few minutes before they settled into an image from the other world.
Ezra took a good look at
what the image had to offer. His brow
furrowed and he clenched his jaw. Damn
him, Ezra thought as he peered at the scene before him. Damn him!
No matter what Ezra ever
did, it always seemed as if Julian had other plans. And that infuriated Ezra to no end. He had known that Julian would see Jenny and that he would
probably follow Jenny. But, Ezra had
been sure that Julian would not try to contact Jenny in any way. Jenny was so fragile now that Julian was
sure to think that she would break if she saw him again.
And yet…and yet, as Ezra
looked at the image before him, he had to wonder if he had misjudged again what
Julian would do. To Ezra, it looked as
if Jenny was staring right at Julian as if she could see him.
Ezra still could feel the
anger grow inside him. He could not
have Julian and Jenny together. That
would ruin everything. And the
game would be over if Jenny was glad to see Julian.
No, Ezra thought, I won't
have it. I will just go there and take
care of the little matter myself.
He had been planning on
dropping in on Julian that night anyway to see what he was up to. But, now, there was much more at stake. And Ezra would not allow things to change. They would do it his way.
He closed his eyes and
concentrated harder.
……………………………………………………
Julian stared at
Jenny. Could it be possible? Had she really heard him? Quickly, he checked all of the protective
walls in his mind to make sure that one had not fallen undetected. It seemed as if that was the only answer to
how she would know that he was there. He had tried to be so careful and just watch her. Julian had never meant for her to hear him.
Or had he? Couldn't it be said that a small part of him
wanted her to hear him? She had looked
so very sad, sitting on her bed crying. And when she had held up his ring………. Truth be told, Julian had wanted nothing more than to step out of the
shadows so that he could see and be seen.
And now it seemed as if
he might have his chance. She had heard
him and now she was looking at the corner in which he stood as if she were sure
he was there. He wasn't sure how she
had heard him, but she had. And try as
he might to convince himself to stay in the shadows, he took one step
forward. Still, he did not let down his
guard. She still could not see
him. Yet.
Julian was just so afraid
of what her reaction to seeing him would be. Would she be afraid of him? Would she be happy he was there? There were just too many questions and possibilities about what could
happen if he were to show himself. Was
it better to just stay quiet and let her think that she had imagined the whole
thing?
Julian was just about to
take the small step back into the shadows of the corner when she spoke.
She said only one word,
his name, but it made him freeze with a new kind of fear.
"Are you there?" Jenny added hesitantly, fearing that she
would soon know the truth. It would
frighten her either way. If he was not
there, she would be scared because the voice had sounded so real. And if he was there, well, that perhaps was
even worse. "Please tell me. Are you there?"
Nervousness swamped her
stomach, making her feel sick. She was
shaking as if she were cold, even though the room was warm enough. And even though Jenny really didn't want to
know the truth, she knew that she needed to know. She needed to know if there was any possible chance that Julian
was in that room with her. It was a
long shot, but still, she needed to know.
"Please," she said again
and listened as silence settled in the room.
Julian wished he could
disappear. Her words were perfect, her
voice beautiful. He realized again why
he had fallen so in love with her years before when his game with her had started. She was everything to him, even when she
feared him. And would she fear him
now? Would she run away from him
screaming? He didn't want to hurt
her…..
"Please," she said once
more. This time, though, the sound was
only a bit above a whisper and it cut through Julian. He watched as she bowed her head and a small tear fell down her
cheek.
It was all too much for
him and he was quickly losing control. His resolve to stay in the shadows was weakening much too fast. You are a fool if you show yourself, Julian
told himself. But even as he said the
words in his mind, he took a step forward into the light.
He did not let himself be
seen yet; it was too soon for that. He
simply stood there, a step closer to her than he had been before. Julian could feel the moon's light pouring
in from the window and bathing him. It
felt good to be in the light for once, to not have to melt into the
shadows. But, he had no time to truly
enjoy the light. His time was short, he
knew. And if he were to show himself,
it had to be before his rational mind could talk him out of it.
"Jenny?" He whispered, keeping his eyes on her for
any sign that she had heard him.
She looked up sharply,
knowing that the voice had come from the corner of the room. It was funny how she had just know…had just
had a feeling…..that he had been there. That he was standing in that corner, watching her. Sure, she had heard his voice a few minutes
before. But, when he had not answered
her, she had started to wonder if the whole incident had been her
imagination. Now, though, it was
different. He had said something and
deep down inside, Jenny had to admit that all along she had known or at least
hoped that he was there.
Another tear started its
lazy path down her cheek.
"Julian?" She asked tentatively, although she already
knew the answer. It was simply that she
wanted to hear his voice again.
"Yes."
Jenny wiped her eyes with
her hand and then looked back at the corner. "Why can't I see you? I want to
see you."
Her heart beat heavily in
her chest as if at any minute it would explode. A thin snake of fear ran through her veins, but that was it. Jenny didn't truly feel scared of seeing him
again. Now that she knew he was there,
she was surprised at how she really felt.
She had thought of what
it would be like to see him again only a few times over the years. Jenny had thought of what it would be like
if all the sudden he showed up in her life again. She had always wondered what she would have done, how she would
have acted. It was all too easy to
think that she would simply scream and run or stand and fight him. But, what if she didn't react like that, she
had always wondered. What if she didn't
want to run away from Julian? Of
course, these thoughts had always been quickly thrust aside because Jenny had
not wanted to think about Julian and the past. She had not wanted to revisit what had happened between them. All that she had wanted was to forget all
that had happened. But, she had never
forgotten any of it and therefore, she had always wondered……
Julian closed his eyes
and concentrated, allowing himself to appear before the one person who had
always meant everything to him. He
still feared how she would react, what she would do. But, it was a chance he was willing to take. And he knew that seeing Jenny was part of
Ezra's game. Aye, that fact had not
escaped his attention. But, when he saw
her and the pain that was in her eyes-such heavy pain- he just had to take the
chance. Yet, deep inside, Julian knew
he would never forgive himself if seeing him hurt Jenny even more.
Her eyes grew larger as
he appeared just mere feet away from her. Her eyes traveled over him and noticed that this was not the same person
that she had struggled with years before. Oh, he still looked pretty much the same. Although, there was a bit of wariness in his eyes where there had
only been coldness before. And his
stance did not seem so cocky as it had before. He didn't act as if he were in charge, as if he had all the power. But, it was something else that made her
think that he had changed.
It was the way he was
looking at her. Before, he had looked
at her almost as if he were hungry. The
word 'famished' came into Jenny's head and she shivered. He had looked at her so coolly before
because he had been so confidant that he would win the game and she would be
his forever. But now, he only looked at
her sadly, as if he was not sure what to do or say.
"It is you," she said in
wonder. There was so much to say, but
she couldn't seem to find all the right words. She could tell that he had changed. He wasn't the same manipulative Julian that he had been before. She wanted to ask him all sorts of
things. But mainly, she wanted to know
if he had gone to some place with lots of light when they had taken him out of
existence. Jenny had promised that she
would think up a place like that for him and she had always wondered………………
"Yes," Julian said as if
he had read her thoughts. "Thank you."
Jenny lowered her gaze
and stared at the floor. She felt as if
she should be screaming and running away from him. After all, this was the person who had played such horrifying
games with her just a few years before. Yet, as she looked back at him, she couldn't help but feel at ease with
him around. It was strange that his
appearance would have such an effect on her. She did not want to run from the room screaming. She wanted to stay where she was, with
Julian. Julian will protect me, she
thought. He had always tried to protect
her from everything before. She had
never cared about that before; it had never been important. But, now it was. Now, all Jenny wanted to feel was protected.
Since Tom had died, she
had lost all feelings of protection. It
wasn't as if Tom had really been around to protect her, but she liked to think
that he would have if the time had presented itself again. And she had always felt a little better with
that thought. They may have broken up,
but Jenny liked the thought that Tom would still protect her.
But, he had died. And the feeling had died with him. Jenny had felt so alone after his
death. There was no one else to watch
over her, to protect her. All of her other
friends had moved away. Even Zack, her
cousin, had moved away. There just
simply wasn't anyone else.
Until now.
Jenny raised her eyes to
meet Julian's own and she noticed how he seemed to freeze as their gazes
connected. Had she heard him take in a
sharp breath or was it just her imagination? She wondered what he thought of seeing her again after the years that had
gone by. He hadn't made any move closer
to her. He hadn't tried to use sweet,
manipulative words like the old Julian would have. The old Julian, Jenny thought. Yes, that was right. This was
definitely the new Julian and he seemed oh so much different from the old one.
There was something else
weighing on her mind, though. It was a
question that had been on the tip of her tongue since he had appeared in her
room. She had to know why.
"How did you……I thought
they took you out of existence," she said quietly, watching the boy in front of
her.
Julian laughed
bitterly. Of course, he thought. Of course she would want to know how he had
gotten there. She had been there when
the Shadow Men had erased him before. And now she was wondering how he had been able to come back. But, Julian knew he had to be careful when
telling her what had transpired in the Shadow World. She couldn't know the whole truth. She couldn't know the truth about Alyx.
"Ezra, the leader of the
Shadow Men, carved my name back into the runestave."
Jenny's brow furrowed as
her mind processed this information. Why would the leader of the Shadow Men do that, she wondered. They had been so ready to take Julian out of
existence all that time ago. Why would
they all the sudden want him back?
Jenny knew that the
Shadow Men were not loving creatures. So, it was not as if they suddenly regretted their decision about
killing Julian. There must have been a
reason, Jenny thought. They would not
have brought him back for no reason at all.
And then she realized
what must have happened. "Oh God,
Julian, there is another game? Oh God………….".
Jenny jumped up off of
the bed and stepped back, further away from Julian. Her mind whirled with what she had just learned. It all made sense, didn't it? Julian being put back into existence by the
game players, his fellow Shadow Men. And then he had showed up in Jenny's apartment. It really meant one thing, didn't it?
Jenny tried not to
panic. Didn't all of it mean that she
was the game again? Didn't it mean that
Julian had come to her to play a game as they had before?"
She tried not to be
afraid, but her breathing was a bit more ragged than it had just minutes
before. What if, her mind thought, what
if the new Julian was just an act? What
if he was playing a game and the new Julian was supposed to get her to
relax. And then he would strike.
"Stay away from me," she
said quietly, her voice cold with fear and anger mixed in together. Oh, she wished Dee were there with her
now. Dee would have been strong for
them both.
"Jenny…," Julian said and
he took a step forward. He was not sure
why she seemed so afraid of him all of the sudden. He had not come to do her any harm. He had simply wanted to see her. But, a little voice in the back of his mind replied, wasn't this the
reaction you thought she would have when seeing you?
He had been so afraid
that he would frighten her. And now it
seemed he had.
"Don't come near me!" Jenny yelled and she took another step
back. She could feel the wall behind
her back. Oh God Oh God Oh
God…………… "I won't play another one of
your games!"
Julian shook his head,
his brow furrowing. Was that what she
thought? Did she actually think that he
was there to play a game with her? No,
his mind thought. No, she can't think
that way. Julian felt his heart go cold
as he saw the hate in her eyes. It was
worse than being cut out of existence. If he could make her understand….
"No, I am not—," he
started, but was cut off by another voice.
"Ah, there you are, Julian. I see you have found her. When shall we begin the game?"
Ezra had arrived.
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