Chapter Five:

Chapter Five:

The Past

Selena Chimes ran hard and ran fast. Her cat legs carried her across the soft grass, across the land. Usually she threw her head back and breathed in the air, let it blow over her. But not this time. This time she was running because she had to get to him. She had to tell him. She had left the witches behind and was distancing herself more and more with every swift step. Thank the Goddess the witches were only humans with magic. She had to reach him before they did.

The pillars came into view, the gardens and the springs of water appearing just as magically. She raced faster, pushing herself past her limits, to her extreme. And her voice came out low, guttural. "Rayne…Rayne!"

Guards waited at the doors but none of them were Endymion. As she came closer they moved to get in her way, dragon arms reaching out and clamping down on her fur as she struggled to leap over them, past them, under them. They were faster and stronger and one caught her by her legs, sweeping them out from under there. She crashed forward, cat body slamming against the doors and they fell open under her weight.

"Endymion!" she shouted into the wide hall before her. Her voice echoed and came out like a growl, bouncing in the silence.

A fist smashed into the side of her face, against her cat ears and she yelped like a wounded animal.

"Dragon." A masculine voice said and she felt fingers along the two horns on her powerful back. The fingers tightened on her fur, yanking painfully, and she snarled instinctively, lashing out with claws and snapping with her teeth. The hands pulled back after a moment and she stood on her two hind legs. Her body rippled, shifting, and she became half-cat half-woman, her golden tail swishing challengingly.

"You just cost me time." She growled furiously. And she spun and raced forward once more, entering the sacred halls of the House.

"Stop her!" voices shouted and more dragons bearing the Royal Crest reared up before her, appearing out of side doors. She scrambled past, dodging and leaping over the bodies that jumped in her way but she continued to search for Rayne, continued to sprint, her fury driving her on.

"Endymion!" she shouted once more before they crashed down upon her. Bodies slammed into her, forcing her to the ground. And then more bodies were falling on top of the ones she was under, nearly crushing her to the floor. She cried out, gritting her teeth against the pain. Makes me all the more the fool, she thought silently. The dragons looked slim enough, who knew they would weigh so much? She looked up passed the bodies above her and saw a single figure rise, fist clenched to deliver a blow.

She flinched away, ears drawing against the sides of her head and waited for the pain but when it didn't come she looked up again, eyes wide.

Rayne stood above her as well, holding the attacker's fist away from her. His face was dark with fury and he glared at the other dragons. With a short growl that rumbled in his throat he flung the fist aside and then reached his hand down to her, eyes catching on the dragons as they pulled away rapidly.

Selena rose, air reaching her once more and she quickly went into his embrace, burrowing against his side and allowing his warmth to seep into her ice cold body.

"She barged in, Endymion!" One of the dragons bellowed, breathing harshly, chest rising and falling from the exertion.

Rayne's face became cold. "And if you touch her again I'll kill you." He vowed quietly, the anger vanishing into stoniness.

Selena raised a hand, touching his shoulder. "Wait. Wait!" she said to the entire group frantically. "There's no time for this! You have to hear me out! They're coming. The witches are coming here, for all of us! I barely stayed ahead-"

Everyone looked at her, Rayne tilting his head to stare down at her. "To kill us?" he asked with a frown.

She shook her head. "To put us to sleep." She said, looking up into his amber eyes, pleading. Please, believe me, please…

For a moment no one said a word, the first dragon even going so far as to laugh at her. She shook her head, couldn't force a sentence to stop his roar of laughter echoing around them.

But then another dragon entered the hall and his words were enough to stop them all cold.

"The witches are coming."

The Present

Thank the Goddess for dragon strength and healing. Chime peeled away her charred skin, the scabs falling into the bathroom wastebasket. The skin under her scabs was still healing but most was good as new, her flesh still tinged pink from the flames. This was one sunburn that would take a while to go away.

Her back was sore, no doubt from her fall but the soreness was the worst of it. Her bones were pretty much good as new, muscles functioning without problems. Organs were intact and her dragon blood rushed through her veins almost audibly. She had to check her black power but she knew it would still be working properly. She didn't want to destroy the house she was currently residing in.

She lifted her head and looked around the bathroom. The damn room was huge. It was a soft blue color, with a large, elegant bathtub engraved into the center of the floor. The floor was raised a step from where she was standing and there were vases of flowering plants at the two corners of the long step. Windows lined the entire south wall from floor to ceiling, the silk curtains drawn back and tied at the sides. She would be damned before she took a bath in this room with those windows wide open. But she took a step up to circle the bathtub. And outside the windows was the most beautiful garden she had ever laid eyes on, excluding the gardens of the Royal house from her past. Rows and rows of flowers were arranged, vines of fruit winding around pillars, springs and fountains spraying water into the warm air. It was almost like being home again.

When she came out of the bathroom Theorn was in her room, waiting for her in a chair in the corner. She started in surprise and flushed momentarily before nodding and smiling to him. "Thierry."

He raised his head, face blank. "Grew out of calling me Theorn?" he asked quietly.

She circled the bed to sit closer to him and shook her head thoughtfully. "Remembered you had changed your name." She corrected. She paused to think about the last time she had seen him. He didn't seem to have changed much but then, made vampires rarely changed. Especially not in appearance. Theorn would never grow old, never waste away. He would be eternally youthful. Eternally beautiful. "How have you been? Did you ever find your soulmate?" she asked, remembering how he hadn't had any luck. She instantly wanted to take back her words. What if he hadn't found her? What if she had died? She would've died young but it was not unheard of.

Thierry was nodding, however. "She's here with me," He answered slowly.

Chime's expression brightened considerably and her happiness radiated in the room, seemed to paint it a cheerful yellow. "That's wonderful! I am truly happy for you, Theorn." She said, smiling widely.

"Thanks."

The happiness melted away at his wariness, crushed by a thick and awkward silence. Chime eyed him cautiously, feeling strangely tingly and jumpy. Theorn, on the other hand seemed downright lazy. Perhaps he was waiting for her to say something. But she wasn't about to say anything until he said something first.

Happy little game they had going on, she thought wryly.

A knock at the door caused them both to stiffen and Chime saw that he had actually been nervous despite the laid-back picture he painted. They looked toward the door as it began to open slowly. Then Thea was poking her head in and she waved toward the both of them cheerfully. "Morning, Thierry. Morning, Selena."

Chime pulled back a bit at the unfamiliar name. "Selena. Wow." She said to herself quietly. "Haven't heard that name in a while."

Thierry smiled faintly, eyeing her. "Her name is Chime, now." He said to Thea although his eyes never left her. But his next question was meant for her. "Right?"

Chime nodded wordlessly.

"I just wanted to say hi." Thea rushed on, picking up on the awkwardness. "The mansion feels kind of empty and one can barely tolerate Ash for so long. Especially with Quinn here." She shook her head, exhaling wearily.

Thierry leaned forward, closer to Chime. "You should meet the people here." He said in an inviting tone. "Most of them, the ones who are usually here, are off visiting family but there are still some Daybreakers here."

Chime raised her eyes slowly, meeting his and she knew she looked dark. To the side Thea had grown stiff at her expression. "So," she said with a small nod, "this is Circle Daybreak." She knew she sounded strangely ominous but it was even stranger having Theorn come out and say straight to her face that he was a part of Daybreak. She had heard of the problems, the approaching Millennium, but it hadn't had much of an effect on her. If the world ended in fire and ice it would just be another ordinary day in the life of Selena Chimes Devlin.

Thea was casting a wary glance at Theorn. And Chime could almost hear her thoughts. She was definitely feeling the anxiety.

Thierry, however, was smiling, the type of smile that was innocent but darkly alluring at the same time. He was balanced on both sides by his angel and devil. "This is not Circle Daybreak." he said to her. "You haven't met Circle Daybreak yet. I'm just your everyday Night Lord." He sat back comfortably in his chair, the smile turning into an all out teasing grin.

Chime looked at Thea before nodding. "I won't say anything, Theorn. I want to meet them."

Thea visibly relaxed. "Will you tell us your story?" she asked, a bit of the old cheerfulness returning.

Chime felt the urge to smile. "My story or a story?" she asked and she could see Theorn remembered their conversation in the bar for he smiled faintly. Before Thea could answer her she was nodding again. "Sure. Why not?" she exhaled, feeling the pressure in her chest. "It's time it came out."

Thea led her to a large room, a recreational room, Thierry following silently. Chime was trying to keep up with Thea's careless chatter but it was hard to keep up with the names. She managed to hang onto an Eric, the name of Thea's soulmate. And Blaise, Thea's cousin who Chime was guessing was the Maya look-a-like. But beyond that she was lost.

A pool table in the large room had been pushed aside, against the wall. The television and stereo were quiet, shut off. And the only sounds now were from the group of people waiting in the room.

Chime nodded her thanks to Thea as the girl led her to a vacant seat. She was feeling nervous again. The people all around were staring at her, some of them dark, others just curious. There were a lot of them, too. Chime's nervousness was turning vaguely into claustrophobia.

Theorn came forward after Thea had seated herself on the couch. "Alright," he sighed, motioning almost wearily. "This is Circle Daybreak. Or a part of it. Most of these people are close friends of mine, they spend a lot of the time in my home." He looked toward the couch and began. "Meet James and Poppy."

He was pointing to a couple. They seemed rather young to be on their own but Chime knew looks could deceive. James, the male of the couple was handsome and Chime got the distinct impression that he was usually a bad boy. Or rather, a bad boy to everyone except the girl at his side. The girl was small, fragile even, with pale, pale skin enhanced by deep red curls and powerful, slanted green eyes. She was playing with James's fingers absentmindedly but when she was introduced she raised a hand and waved cheerfully.

Chime smiled back.

"That's Ash." Thierry was moving along, motioning toward a boy leaning against the pool table.

Ash was tall. Very tall. A slender blond, to the point of being lanky. But there was a definite strength in his long frame and she saw it as he lifted his head to stare at her. Chime pulled back a bit as she focused on his eyes. They shifted color, from a deep blue to a blank slate-gray.

"You're related to Maya." Chime said before thinking. She clamped her mouth shut a second later.

Ash merely arched an ash-blond eyebrow.

Thierry was looking at Thea. "You know Thea." He said. He pointed out the black-haired woman Chime had encountered before. "That's her cousin Blaise beside her."

Chime nodded. "Hellewise and Maya." She murmured as if to commit it to memory.

"I've been saying that for years." Ash mumbled from the pool table, rising away from it and gathering the hard shiny balls into a group at the center of the table. They clanked together as he settled them and reached for the eight ball in a pocket.

"Over there in the back we got Rashel and Quinn." Thierry was saying, his eyes fixed on two people in the corner. Chime glanced over.

Rashel was a lean young woman, tall and with an olive complexion. Her hair was black, falling down her back in a loose and somewhat hurried braid. Chime sensed that her appearance was the last thing on the woman's mind. She could tell from Rashel's frame that she was in shape, in perfect control of her body. And although her glittering green eyes were hooded Chime knew she was being studied. Observed.

Quinn was all darkness. His hair was dark, his eyes black orbs of obsidian, his frame lean and compact. He was unnerving, almost like Thierry had been that night but when Quinn smiled wickedly a shiver raced down her spine. He was frightening. And if Quinn and Rashel were soulmates she wondered how Rashel could handle him.

And then she stopped Thierry as he began again. "Wait." She frowned, staring hard at Quinn and Rashel. "Quinn? And Rashel?" she asked, feeling the familiarity in the names.

Thierry nodded knowingly. "John Quinn. And Rashel 'The Cat' Jordan."

Chime's jaw dropped open. John Quinn and The Cat. They were practically legend. She had heard bits and pieces. Rumors that Hunter Redfern's heir had turned from the Night World after finding his soulmate. And that The Cat was a woman, named Rashel. To think that Quinn and Rashel were soulmates. Vampire and Slayer. Hunter and Prey.

Chime nodded. "It's an honor." She said quietly.

Rashel and Quinn seemed taken aback but they nodded to her after a moment.

"Of course you know me." Thierry said, getting back to the introductions. Then he turned to one last girl in the room, a blond hovering close by. He held a hand out to her wordlessly and she came forward, grasping it tenderly. "And this is Hannah." He said quietly, his dark eyes on the young girl. "My soulmate."

Chime's lips parted, forming a small smile. "At last." She said faintly. "The soulmate."

Hannah looked at her, gray eyes questioning. Slanted down her cheek was a birthmark, a pale pink mark right below her cheekbone. Chime studied her, her long blond hair and her gentle but quizzical expression. And she sensed that Hannah was old. Not in body but definitely in mind and soul.

An Old Soul.

"Very nice to meet you." Chime said finally, nodding to the group in its entirety. "All of you."

Thea leaned forward then excitedly, brown eyes shining. "Tell us, Chime! Tell us!" she demanded.

Chime laughed at her enthusiasm, wondering vaguely when she had lost her own. She looked toward Thierry and the Night Lord merely shrugged, his hand still entwined with Hannah's.

"All right." She said finally, looking back at Thea. "My name is Chime Devlin. I used to be known as Selena Chimes a long, long time ago. But I changed it. Chime was a nickname from the past and Devlin was a familiar name to me…" she shrugged.

"You're a vampire?" The Cat asked from the back of the room. Here eyes were hooded once more and she seemed almost…hungry.

"No." Chime shook her head quickly. The Goddess forbid she be a vampire in the same room as The Cat. "I'm a dragon, actually." She answered in an offhand tone.

Complete stunned silence filled the room.

Chime cut herself off halfway through her next sentence and glanced around cautiously. It was then that she realized all eyes were trained on her.

Uh-oh.

The Daybreakers were blinking at her dumbly. Chime almost had the urge to laugh but Quinn and Rashel were suddenly looking darker, somehow bigger and meaner than they had been. She even had Ash's full attention and she doubted anyone could hold all his attention.

"You're a…what?" Poppy asked slowly, green eyes wide.

Chime swallowed. "A dragon…" she answered, making it seem more like a question. Maybe she should just change her answer before they all came forward and attacked her.

"You were being serious?" Ash asked, turning on Blaise in disbelief. The dark-haired witch merely smirked at him in response.

"I am a dragon." Chime continued before all hell broke loose. "I'm also half-tiger. A shape-shifter." She said calmly. "Basically."

James was still blinking. "Why are you awake?"

Chime sat back in her chair, pausing. How to answer the question? Or better yet, where to begin? She exhaled. "Well…a long time ago, during the Age of Dragons, there was a Royal House. Much like now. But the Royal House was of Dragons, housing the Prince of Dragons." She bowed her head. "The Dragon Prince ordered all half breeds to be…raised as such. I was not taught how to call forth the black power nor was I taught how to use it," She shrugged. "As it was, I was raised as a…lesser shape-shifter. I was not considered a threat by the witches."

"So you weren't put to sleep." Poppy stated.

"Let her tell her story!" Thea said, jumping up and down excitedly.

Blaise looked at her cousin, her eyes a penetrating gaze. Then she was leaning behind Thea and calling toward Ash. "Did you drug her tea again this morning?" she whirled on Quinn as Ash shrugged and shook his head. "You?"

Chime grinned. "Ok. Let me start from the beginning." She said. "I was born to a tiger shape-shifter. My mother. And my father was a Royal Guard to the First House of Dragons. I didn't know anything about him, still don't, and probably never will. Not even his name. But it's all right. He never figured prominently in my life. My mother raised me until she died in an unfortunate incident between the witches and the dragons. My father didn't want me, obviously, since he never came for me. So I drifted around, leaving home, coming back."

"Pretty lonely." Poppy murmured sympathetically.

"Yeah, it was." Chime nodded, shrugging. "For the most part. But then I came to a town where I met a friend. A true friend, or so I thought." She hesitated, looking down and she felt the room suddenly get heavy with emotion. "Her name was Hellewise."

Thierry bowed his head with her.

"The Hellewise?" Quinn asked suspiciously.

Chime nodded, casting a quick glance at him. "The One and Only." She answered softly. "I also met Theorn there," she motioned distractedly, "but we were never introduced."

Thierry smiled slightly.

"It was a wonderful time for me." Chime continued and her eyes held the far-off look of one who was seeing memories, reliving them in their mind. "For once I could laugh. Live. Not worry." She sighed thoughtfully. "I was happy. Really happy."

The statement hung in the air for a moment. Then Hannah asked tentatively, "What happened?"

Chime shook her head as if she couldn't face the horror. "Oh, the worst thing…" she said. "I found my soulmate and fell in love."

Everyone looked at her.

Except Ash who had started his lonely game of pool. "Isn't that the worst?" he asked her absentmindedly, one eye closed as he tried to measure the angle between two of the balls over the cue stick.

"It is." Chime agreed. "I remember it was around that time that Hellewise, in her innocence, told me that Witch Queen Hecate would be putting the dragons to sleep." She quickly added, "Myself excluded, of course. Because I was weak." She hadn't meant for the statement to come out sounding so sardonic.

"Uh-oh…" Poppy sighed sadly. "I see where this is going…"

"Yeah." Chime said with a strained laugh. "I should have, too." She shook her head to herself. "Anyways, I got mad at Hellewise. Well, actually," she corrected, "I panicked. First I begged her to speak to her mother, to stop her and her insane notion…but she wouldn't. We argued, time and again. Sometimes in tears, sometimes nearly coming to blows." She grimaced, remembering the scenes that played out in her mind, listening to the ghosts of cries and screams that echoed in her ears. "But I was in love. For the first time! Maybe the only time, I was in love. Someone cared for me." She lifted both hands, holding them out beside each other. "I had a soulmate." She said, referring to her left hand. "And then I had a friend." And she gestured with her right hand. Her eyes closed and she clasped her hands into fists and then let them fall into her lap. "What could I have done?"

Thea was gazing at her sadly. "What did you do?"

Chime opened her eyes but she didn't see. "That last day…" she whispered, "I talked to Helle…Hellewise, once more. I begged her to stop. And when she didn't listen to me I ran to the First House. My soulmate was a Guardian to the Prince and I needed to tell them." She hesitated in shame, "Hellewise had betrayed me that day and then I…betrayed her right back."

Thierry now had his arms crossed over his chest, face dark. "What happened?"

Chime slumped a bit. "I found Rayne. And I told the guards. But they didn't believe me. Until it was too late…and Rayne was put to sleep. Protecting his prince. Of all people, protecting his prince…" her voice broke off into a lost whisper.

The room was quiet for several seconds and Chime felt their sorrow. She had once felt that sad. Over the years it hadn't grown easier but she had managed to live. She was so dull of any emotion she doubted she had any nerves left with which to feel.

Ash was nodding in the corner. "Man, that's how I want to go." He said absentmindedly, his one man game forgotten. "Protecting someone. Probably my soulmate."

"He's not gone, Ash." Hannah corrected. "Just…asleep."

"Then what?" Thea prodded before hesitating. "If you want to keep telling us, that is. You don't have to…" But it was quite obvious that Chime did have to because they all wanted to hear.

"Then what..?" Chime sighed. "Then I left the village after the bodies of the dragons had been hidden. I begged them. For the longest time I begged them to show me where his body was. But they wouldn't. And then I left. Only to come back when I had heard that Hellewise was dead." She swallowed and looked off to the side, at some distant point in her past. "After that, it's all a blur. A big blur…" she whispered. "I did a lot of traveling but the memories always brought me back. A long time after the battle I encountered another witch, one who was part vampire and she put me to sleep for several years. I was supposed to awaken when either Rayne awakened or when she died. But she died first."

"Wow, part vampire." Hannah said to herself. "So this was several hundred years after the battle of Maya and Hellewise that you met up with the witch."

Chime shrugged helplessly. "I really couldn't tell you. It's all a…really big blur. I stopped living, stopped caring. I just floated through it all but I would not be surprised if it was hundreds of years later. It sure as hell felt like it," She shook her head and sighed. "Cassandra died in Nineteen-Eighty anyway and that's when I woke up."

"And that's where I come in." Thierry said.

Chime raised her head to him, brightening considerably. "Yes! You!" she said with much needed laughter. She held out her hands as if to present an award to Thierry. "Lo and behold! I find him in a bar."

Ash gasped, lifting a hand to his chest. "Thierry, no!" he said in mock horror.

"What have we told you about those late-night drinks?" Quinn asked with a shake of his dark head, looking like a parent who had somehow failed his child.

"A bar?" Hannah echoed with an arched eyebrow.

Thierry looked towards the ceiling with a sigh. "Thank God Morgead and Delos can't cash in on this one…"

"Oh, don't worry." Chime said to the entire group, grinning. "He was celebrating the rebirth of his soulmate." She looked at Hannah. "I wasn't sure whether he was drunk or not but he was happy. Definitely happy."

Thierry almost seemed to blush.

"Anyways," Chime continued, "I changed my name and was living semi-happily ever after until someone found out. That I was awake." She frowned but her tone was dismissive, as if she had hadn't been paying attention to the situation. "The witches are hunting me, it seems."

Thea blinked. "The witches?" she asked with a frown, "No-"

"The Mother has a price on my head." Chime cut her off adamantly, blue eyes flashing. "Like it or not, I am the only dragon awake and after years of training and finally coming to understand my black power, I now seem to pose a threat."

Hannah looked toward Thierry and her expression was not one of happiness. "This is not good." She murmured and Thierry's glance told Chime that he agreed with his soulmate.

"Would they want you so that they could put you back to sleep?" James asked, silver eyes narrowed thoughtfully. His soulmate continued to play with his long, slender fingers absentmindedly, her face as inscrutable as his.

"That or kill me." Chime answered with an exhalation of breath. She raised a hand to her temple. It suddenly felt very warm in the room. "I'm not sure. But I'm scared." She shook her head, grimacing. "I'm scared about what they'll do when they find me."

"When?" Thierry asked, arching an eyebrow.

Chime looked at him, her hand holding back her blond bangs from her face. "They will find me, Theorn. It's only a matter of time." She said quietly.

"Are you alright?" Thea cut in worriedly. "You look pale."

"I'm tired." Chime answered slowly. She hesitated for a moment, blinking. "I feel…weak. I don't remember ever feeling this weak before." She looked up at Thierry almost as if to ask, 'Is something wrong with me?'

"Ok, back to bed." Thierry said in a firm tone that left nothing to be questioned. "We'll talk more after you've rested." He moved to Chime's side but Thea was rising also.

"I'll take her." She volunteered brightly. She looked at Chime with a reassuring smile and held out her arm.

Chime looked at her, pausing, before finally nodding and rising also. She smiled tentatively toward the Daybreakers, bidding them goodbye and after they said goodbye to her she allowed Thea to whisk her away.

"You dream about them." Thea stated, staring down at Chime who was once more tucked away in bed. She laid a hand across Chime's forehead, frowning absentmindedly.

"Yes." Chime nodded up at her, eyes shimmering excitedly. "All the time. It's the only thing I can do. To remember him." She said and she held out her hand. "Do you want to see him?"

Thea removed her hand and cautiously placed it into Chime's grasp, slowly seating herself into the chair beside the bed. She seemed unsure, to the point of looking fearful.

Chime clasped her wrist gently, soothingly. "You'll be my witness." She said with a smile, adding "daughter of Hellewise." In a quiet tone.

Thea forced a small smile herself. "Show me then."