Part 24

Ethan stared after Susanna as she pushed past him and ran off. The change in her was surprising. Before she had been pretty, now...

Now she was almost perfect with inhuman beauty. Her blonde hair was slightly paler, with a shimmer like a waterfall. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires. Her skin was as pale as orchids.

She wasn't the same Susanna anymore. She didn't love him anymore. At least that was what it seemed like. And maybe it was that that hurt him more than anything. Without her, nothing would ever be the same.

He gradually became aware of the other people in the house looking at him.

"How did you manage to find this place?" the redhead demanded.

"We asked the witch who told Susanna where to go," Tiegra answered. Her voice was strained. When Ethan looked at her, there were tears in her eyes.

"What do you want with her?" the dark haired human demanded.

Tiegra explained. For some reason, Ethan couldn't find his voice. Glancing around at the housemates, something about the boy hovering at the back disturbed him. He was sure he'd seen that guy before somewhere, only couldn't place where.


"She ran away from us and we didn't know why. She's special to us We wanted to find her and take her home to the people who loved her," Tiegra said.

There was another silence. They were exchanging glances. "How do we know you're not the people trying to hurt her?" This human was starting to get annoying.

"They're not the bad guys," Jack spoke up in their defence.

"I want to talk to Susanna," Tiegra whispered, trying to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.

"The last bedroom on the right," the redhead said with a sigh. Tiegra pushed past Ethan and headed up the stairs.

"How about some names?" Ethan said, finally able to speak.

"That's Shanna, Bridget and Carter," Jack said, pointing to each one.

"We've got to get Susanna somewhere safer than here. The Night People hunting her are in town, and it wasn't exactly hard to find *this* place," Ethan went on. "There's two that Tiegra and I saw. There may be more."

"Kathryn," Bridget said, suddenly startled. "She hates Susanna. She's gonna want to know if there are others who hate her wandering around."

Ethan frowned. The name sparked something in him. An old girlfriend he didn't quite remember, maybe?

"We've got to get to her before they do, or Kathryn joins forces with them," Shanna said, equally alarmed.

Ethan was surprised at their loyalty to Susanna. She seemed to have something of a place there already. "Where do I find this bitch?" he demanded.

No one else was going to hurt Susanna. He didn't care what he had to do to stop them.

* * *

Part 25

They were here now. Finally. She was within their grasp and Tiegra was not going to let Susanna get away. She remembered Ethan's outburst about Susanna's selfishness. She hadn't really been listening. Now...

She slammed open the bedroom door. Susanna was pacing up and down like a caged animal, trying to figure out a way to escape.

Tiegra came inside, shutting the door behind her. Susanna just looked at her. Tiegra didn't know whether to hit her or kiss her. "Why?" she demanded finally. "What were you thinking?"

Susanna turned away. "You wouldn't have understood."

Tiegra frowned. "Maybe if you would have just tried *talking* instead of running off..."

"Look at me!" Susanna spun round, spreading her arms wide.

It was almost hard, taking in her new Night World beauty. Surely every vampire hunter's worst nightmare was being turned into one of the things they hunted. But it wasn't like Susanna had *become* a monster and started slaughtering people right left and centre.

Tiegra moved forward and pulled Susanna tightly into her arms, clinging to her as there might be no tomorrow. She could feel her lover's reluctance at first, but eventually Susanna's own arms wrapped around her waist, her face pressed against Tiegra's shoulder.

They held on to each other, not saying a word as there was no need for them at that moment.

Tiegra almost felt able to forgive Susanna for the anguish she had put her and Ethan through. "Before you talk, do you want me to get Ethan so you don't have to say it all twice?" she asked finally.

Susanna remained silent for a minute or so. Then she shook her head. "Not yet."

Tiegra frowned. "You're going to have to face him sooner or later."

Susanna sighed. "I know." She let go, keeping hold of Tiegra's hand they sat on the bed together.

"Who did this to you?" Tiegra demanded. They would find who had hurt Susanna, then...she couldn't think of anything bad enough at the moment, but she *would*.

"Obsidian Redfern," Susanna whispered.

Tiegra stiffened. Obsidian Redfern alone was bad news. She was the leader of a new gang of Night Worlders in San Francisco, associated with the infamous Pierce Holt.

"Why?"

"Because we're soulmates," Susanna said softly, letting go of Tiegra's hand.

Shock coursed through Tiegra leaving her insides numb. Susanna...and Obsidian...soulmates? And now Obsidian had cursed Susanna with unwanted immortality.

"That's why I ran," Susanna went on, still speaking as soft as falling snow. "I couldn't bare to lose you and Ethan, because of *her*." The word was forced out, laced with hatred.

"Why don't want to tell Ethan?" Tiegra asked when she found her voice.

"Because Obsidian is the vampire who made Ethan."

* * *
Part 26

With no other choice Susanna followed Tiegra back downstairs. The others were still waiting for them. Ethan tried to reach out for her, but Susanna couldn't bring herself to touch him.

"Susanna?" he whispered. "You're gonna have to face me sooner or later."

Tiegra took his arm and led him out the room.

"What's going on?" Carter asked with a frown.

"They found me," Susanna said softly. "The Night World are after me."

"And it seems that Kathryn's made some new friends," Jack added.

Susanna's eyes rolled. She should have known Kathryn would latch on to Morticia and Pierce right away. Ethan and Tiegra came back. Ethan's dark eyes were blazing with fur and hatred.

Susanna looked away, To her surprise, Ethan pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. ~I'm not mad at you,~ his mental voice said in her mind. ~It's *her* I'm pissed at. I'm not exactly thrilled with you.~ His tone held warning. ~But we'll talk later.~

Susanna sniffled. "I'm assuming you two aren't just here to take me home."

Ethan shook his head. "Oblivion's cronies are here."

"Morticia and Pierce, I know, we've seen them." The group headed into the lounge. A phone was ringing somewhere. Carter went to answer it.

"So we've got some problems," Shanna said, stating the obvious.

"And more coming," Bridget added, looking towards the windows.

Susanna was annoyed. Now what? What had she ever done to deserve anything like this? She glanced out the window to see a plain black ford sedan pulling up outside the house, and four people getting out. Morgead and Quinn were practically *striding* toward the door.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Ethan demanded, outraged.

"How should I know?" Susanna snapped. She got up and stormed over to the door. The rest of the group followed.

"Some secret hideout *this* is," Tiegra snorted under her breath.

"Well you're alive, so I suppose that's a good thing," Quinn said after an uncomfortable moment of silence.

"Such a comfort," Susanna snapped, watching Jez, Rashel and Monica join them.

"You're okay!" Monica said, hugging her enthusiastically.

Susanna managed a smile, hugging her back briefly before letting go and moving closer to Ethan and Tiegra. "Why are you here?"

"Rescuing you?" Morgead reached out for her. "Come on, let's go."

Susanna shook her head. "No."

"Why don't we go inside and talk about this rationally," Shanna said with a sigh. "One way or another, we need to figure something out."

Susanna sighed with impatience herself, as introductions were made as they settled in the lounge. So far there seemed to be a whole lot of talking and arguing, and hardly any solutions.

Everyone was so busy arguing with each other they didn't notice Susanna leaving the room. She sat out on the back porch swing, wishing she could be anywhere but here.

"You okay?" Carter sat down beside her.

Susanna shook her head. "Not by a long shot. They're all in there, trying to decide what to do about me."

"And they haven't even asked you what you want to do about you?" Carter put a sympathetic arm around her shoulder.

"I know they're trying to look out for me, it's just..."

"Feel like getting out of here?" he interrupted. He grabbed her hand and led her toward his silver-grey Porsche.

Susanna glanced back at the house. "What'll - "

"We'll call them later," Carter said dismissively.

Susanna frowned as she got in the car. She had no reason not to trust Carter. He'd only ever been nice to her. She remained silent on the drive. It seemed rather aimless at first, Will was just cruising around town.

After a while it became apparent he was going somewhere.

"Carter?" she said finally. "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, just smiled his stunning smile. She shuddered. Something about it was extremely eerie. He was pulling up outside an upscale apartment building in what appeared to be the bad side of town. Broken bottles, trash and shuffling newspapers were everywhere.

Susanna looked around, confused. "Carter?" she said again.
"Get out," Carter told her, his tone blunt.

Susanna was surprised. She stared at him. His expression didn't change. Realising he was serious Susanna got out the car. She stared around, wondering what to do. She started walking away.

Only she didn't get very far. Dark figures surrounded her. "Miss us?" Morticia asked. She swung a baseball bat at Susanna's head, knocking her out.

* * *
Part 27

Everyone was so busy arguing heatedly it took Ethan several minutes to work out something was wrong. "Where's Susanna?"

That shut everyone up. Not one of them had noticed she wasn't even there.

"How did she get by us?" Quinn demanded, annoyed. "Why weren't you watching her?"

That was the last straw, Ethan's fist shot out, connecting with Quinn's face with a bone-shattering crunch. Rashel and Jez grabbed him before Quinn could fight back.

"What is your problem?" Ethan demanded. "I've never wanted to hurt Susanna. I *love* her."

"They're a little iffy on where you're coming from," Monica explained. "Why you suddenly changed sides."

Ethan sighed. "That's *my* business. Deal with it."

"This is absurd, you people need to put your differences aside," Bridget snapped. She and Shanna stood in the middle of the group.

"She's right," Shanna said. "We need to focus on the real issue here. Where Susanna is?"

There was a silence. Ethan couldn't really blame Susanna for storming off. They were all arguing over her, yet no one had asked her what *she* thought was best for her.

"Guys? Where's Carter?" Jack asked. "He's gone too."

"Who *is* that guy?" Tiegra asked. "I remember hearing a phone, and he went to answer it."

"And no one's seen Susanna since," Morgead finished. "Which I don't think can be a coincidence."

Everyone looked to Bridget, Shanna and Jack for an explanation on Carter.

Shanna frowned. "Well, we don't really *know* that much about Carter, he's..." She trailed off, looking rather ashamed.

It wasn't hard for Ethan to put two and two together. ~She's in love with him~ he realised.

"Carter's kind of a mystery," Bridget supplied. And Shanna's image of the dreamy mystery guy had just been shattered.

An unpleasant thought was forcing itself into Ethan's mind. It had been there since he'd first seen Carter, but what with Quinn and the Vigilantes showing up, he'd gotten sidetracked. "What's this guy's surname?" He prayed he wasn't right. He didn't want to be. He wanted to believe Susanna's was safe.

"Truman," Jack said finally. "Carter Truman."

"That means something to you?" Jez asked Ethan.

"He's one of Obsidian Redfern's spies," Ethan said. "And he has Susanna."

Silence again. Everyone was waiting for him to continue. He sighed with impatience. "Do I have to spell it out?" he snapped. "He's a spy for the bitch vampire who made Susanna. Susanna ran from that vampire. See where I'm going with this?"

He watched expressions change as the truth finally sank in. They were supposed to protect Susanna from the Night World. And they'd failed. The Night People had been one step ahead of them all the time.

"We've got to save her." It was Tiegra's turn to state the obvious.

"Of course," Rashel said simply.

"This is probably the dumb question," Jack said slowly. "How?"

* * *