Chapter Eight

Blade's eyes widened slightly, looking at Roseclear in growing disbelief. His mind turned through the pages of his childhood memories, or the stories about Night World history that he had been told years before. "Hunter Redfern and Maeve Harman's daughter?"

Roseclear nodded with a smirk, lifting her hands to her hips, a silver ring engraved with a black flower flashing in the darkness. "Everyone thought I was raised as a witch, as *only* a witch. And that, of course, I was dead by now." She laughed softly, dimples deepening in her cheeks. "I'm not though... I learned how to be a witch. *And* a vampire."

Kierlan looked at Blade from the corner of his eye, shifting his hold on Sarah slightly so that he was more balanced. There was little that they could do to get out of the mansion; Sarah's limp body was a hindrance to them both. And, just as Kierlan knew that he would never leave Sarah behind, he was certain that Blade wouldn't either.

It was an odd kind of connection between the two men, one that Kierlan wasn't entirely sure that he even wanted to have. But at the very least, he knew that Sarah wouldn't only have his protection. She's have Blade's as well.

Blade returned the look with a faint shrug of his shoulders, the expression in his eyes that of defeat. Kierlan's eyes flashed in response. Or maybe Sarah would just have his own protection. It was that look in Blade's expression that made Kierlan hope, more than anything, that Blade wasn't the fourth Wild Power. Because if he was, if this prissy, pretty boy vampire *was* the fourth, they had more problems then just the destruction of Circle Daybreak's main headquarters.

Roseclear was circling them, her black cape trailing behind her. "I can do anything you know," she was going on, seemingly oblivious to Blade's and Kierlan's silent communication. She smiled suddenly, perfect white teeth flashing in the darkness. "I can even raise dragons. I almost killed the third Wild Power with a dragon, but she was surprisingly tough, little Iliana was. But I can still kill you."

Roseclear snapped, once, the flesh of her thumb striking that of her middle finger, and another dark shadow took shape, striding forward gracefully. "This is Raya, she's a dragon and she's been... dying to meet you." Roseclear threw her head back and laughed, clearly amused.

Sarah's head shot up when she heard the word dragon. When she had first met Blade, she had been introduced to an entire array of different kinds of creatures: vampires, 'shifters, witches. But of all of them, the one species that seemed to silence a room quickest were the dragons.

She knew a little, that the seat of their powers lay in their horns, that they could shapeshift into anything they touched, that they were almost as powerful as the Wild Powers.

Sarah swallowed hard, looking at Raya through wide eyes. The dragon was tall, slim, but seemed to hold a power that even Sarah, although she was human, could pick up on. Raya hair fell to her waist in unruly curls, the black strands twisting around on another. Her eyes were as green as rose stems and the pupils were almond shaped.

Sarah twisted a little and shrugged herself out of Kierlan's grasp so that he had to place her on her feet or drop her. She straightened her shoulders, fighting off the darkness that was tugging at the edges of her mind.

Roseclear's tinkly laughter fell over her in a cool, icy wave. Sarah shuddered.

"Quite a tiger, that one is," Roseclear said, gesturing to Sarah, still enjoying the turn this game was taking. "But either way, you'll all die together." Roseclear lifted her hands and brought the hood of her cloak over her face again so her features were shrouded in darkness. "I apologize but I must be going. I'm sure Raya will be happy to entertain the three of you."

Roseclear turned and moved away, the heavy velvet swishing, until she was only a shadow. Then the shadow faded and disappeared from sight.

Sarah reached out, grabbing hold of both Blade's and Kierlan's hands, squeezing tightly, pink sharks shooting up both of her hands, making her muscles tighten convulsively. But, as the crackles of electricity subsided, Sarah was both amazed and thrilled to discover that she had the ability communicate to both of them with her mental voice.

*We have to get out of here,* she told them. *I can walk, I'll be fine, but somehow we've got to get the dragon to let us go.*

Agreement radiated from both sides of her and Sarah felt a rush of power coarse through her veins. Helpless laughter bubbled up in her throat. They could do this, they could. United, as one, they could make it out of here.

Blade's hand released hers first and when Sarah glanced to the side, she saw why. His body was tensed, ready to spring forward and fight. His pupils were hugely dilated and a fierce hunting glimmer overtook them, turning the hazel irises golden. Blade's shoulders hunched, the muscles in his legs cording.

Then Kierlan's hand slipped away and Sarah saw him cupping his palms together, a small flicker of orange flame coming to life from between them, the firelight reflecting in those obsidian eyes. His teeth were slightly bared, his legs shoulder length apart, balancing him firmly to the ground.

He starting spreading his hands apart, the fireball growing larger and brighter with intensity. The flames flickered off the foyer's walls, creating ghostly shadows that danced around them like a crackling inferno.

"I hate dragons," Kierlan muttered under his breath, drawing one arm back with a fierce motion, his hand snapping forward a moment later, orange fire erupting from his palm.

The witch fire hit Raya directly in the forehead and the dragon reached up, holding a hand to the scalded skin. Her head was bowed as she breathed deeply. Then it snapped up, her green eyes darkening until they were black, an endless darkness that went on and on.

She looked at Kierlan for a moment, anger causing her pale cheeks to flush as she spread her hands out in front of her.
"Oh, hell," Kierlan said softly, moving quickly and diving towards the ground. He grabbed Sarah around the waist, bringing her with him and they ended up smacking into the hard floor, rolling over, a tangle of arms and legs, as a sharp whip of black energy crackled above their heads.

Sarah looked up just in time to see Blade leaping at the dragon with supernatural speed and agility. He hit Raya from the side and she tumbled to the marble floor with a thud, the back of her head making a cracking sound.

Sarah felt bile well up in the back of her throat. *Another dead body,* she thought dully, struggling to her feet. But hands grabbed at her, yanking her back down just as Raya stirred. The dragon gathered her feet under her and threw Blade off with such force that he flew across the room, hitting a floor to ceiling mirror, the glass shards falling around the Lamia like rain.

Sarah heard a scream and, although she couldn't be certain, she thought that she was the one screaming.

"Oh, god, no," she gasped, her eyes flying to Blade's still form. His thick blonde hair fell over one eye, matted with blood. A pool of the sticky liquid had formed underneath him, starting to flow across the floor in a river.

*Oh god, oh god, he's dead,* Sarah thought illogically, grasping at breaths of air. She was faintly aware that Kierlan was holding her up, keeping her from falling over -- or running to Blade. Sarah twisted in his arms, beating at his chest uselessly.

"Let me go," she said, her voice desperate. "I have to go to him. Let go." Sarah gave another violent tug, coming free of Kierlan's hands, and scrambled towards her fallen soulmate. Her bare feet crunched down on slivers of glass, the fragments cutting into the tender flesh of her soles.

She was halfway to Blade. Blade who's blonde hair shimmered, not because it was shiny, but because of the glass that had wound itself into the strands. And Blade, whose blood Sarah had to wade through to reach him, the blood from her own feet mingling with his.

And then something knocked into her from behind and she skidded across the floor, tumbling into a wall. Sarah lifted her hands to brace herself as the plaster came to meet her, her palms absorbing the impact. She rebounded and ended up on her back, looking up at the high ceiling, struggling to steady her breath.

After a moment, Sarah twisted, lifting herself to one knee painfully. A black scorch mark had burned through where Sarah had just been standing. Eyes darting to the side, she saw Kierlan also trying to get to his feet. Raya had intended to kill her and
Kierlan had been the one to push her away from the danger.

And then Sarah's eye caught Raya, who was advancing on Kierlan, black smoke sizzling from her hands, her eyes black as midnight. She laughed and carelessly waved a hand at him, black fire hitting him with enough force to reverberate throughout the mansion.

Sarah felt the floor lift up from below her and her hands flailed desperately, reaching out for something to anchor her. The world was a rolling sea of pain, pain that was coming not only from her own cut and bleeding body, and not only from Blade's still form that was still gushing blood from uncountable cuts, but from Kierlan who lay face down on the marble, his arms spread eagled by his sides, his face turned to Sarah, his eyes closed.

Tiny puffs of black smoke lifted from his body, curling up and around him. His chest wasn't moving, wasn't rising and falling with the steady breaths that signaled that he was still alive.

Something snapped inside of Sarah. She jumped to her feet, her hands clenching at her sides, the shards of glass embedded into her cuts still biting into her palms. But this caused her no pain. "No! You monster," she screamed, her voice shrill and in danger of going hoarse.

Sarah started forward, the flannel pants billowing out around her, dragging across the floor, ruined and tattered. "You are a monster," she said slowly, each word precise, each syllable filled with loathing.

Sarah didn't know what she was planning to do. She was no match for Raya, the dragon who was looking at her with amusement in her eyes, as though she were enjoying this, as if everything was going according to plan. Raya's dark curls tumbled around her face, her blood red lips twisting into a smile.

"Come here, little girl. Lets see what you've got," Raya said, her voice coming out in a hiss.

Sarah clenched her teeth together, not breaking her stride, moving closer to Raya, a step at a time. "Monster," she repeated. It was the only word that came through clearly in the jumble of her thoughts. Everything else was obliterated by the one certainty that Raya must die.

Raya lifted her hands above her head, drawing in dark energy from some endless source of power, her entire form eclipsed with it. It crackled and burned, smoke fanning out and stinging Sarah's eyes.

Sarah tried to take a deep breath, choking and coughing on the foggy blackness. Her muscles tightened with determination as she ordered herself not to run away, to keep moving.

Raya met Sarah's eyes, holding them for a moment. "Say goodnight," Raya said softly, bringing her arms down hard, the sound of violent thunder splitting through Sarah's eardrums.

Sarah dropped to her knees, holding her hands over her head, preparing herself for mind numbing impact. But the pain never came.

Instead, there was a flash of light, so bright that Sarah could see it through her closed eyelids, and a warmth that snaked through her bloodstream. She dropped her hands and lifted her head, eyes widening in surprise.

A bolt of blue fire had cut through the ceiling of the mansion, rushing downward like a shining, shimmering waterfall, connecting directly with Raya body, jolting the dragon's form.

Everything seemed to freeze then, sound, movement, everything stopped as though it were caught like a frame in a movie.

Through the blue haze, Sarah could see Raya's eyes opening wide, her mouth widening in a soundless scream. Then the fire flashed once and was gone, nothing left of Raya except for a blue outline on the white marble.

There was silence for a full minute, as though life outside the mansion has disappeared. And then, suddenly, Sarah was aware of the steady chirping of crickets, of the questioning call of an owl. Of her own breathing.

She looked around the foyer slowly, her feet moving so that she was twisting around in a circle, taking in the damage. The burned marks on the walls, the shattered glass, the bloodied marble. It was a hundred times worse than when she had first come
out of the tunnel.

Sarah stopped circling when she saw a slight movement from Blade. He was shaking his head, glass falling from his hair to the ground. Blade steadied himself with one hand and he drew himself to his knees, then pressed both hands to his upper legs and precariously got to his feet.

Sarah stumbled over to him, throwing her arms around his waist, ignoring the blood, clinging to him for a moment. "You're alive," she said, her voice breathy. "I thought you were dead..." She stopped suddenly, throat constricting, as she turned to where Kierlan was lying.

"Kierlan," she whispered faintly. Sarah lifted a hand to her mouth. "Oh, no... he's..."

She stopped, unable to finish the thought. Blade carefully detached himself from Sarah's arms and made his way over to the black haired witch, kneeling next to him and pressing his fingers to the other man's neck.

"He still has a pulse," Blade said, looking up at Sarah. "He's alive. I don't know for how long though. We've got to get him out of here."

Blade slid a hand beneath Kierlan's back, bracing himself and picking up the other man. "If only we knew where the rest of the Daybreakers were going..."

There was a faint cough, then Kierlan opened one eye, looking at Blade suspiciously. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Blade snorted. "Maybe he's got more life in him than I thought." He put Kierlan back on his feet ungraciously. "Since you're just fine, lead the way out of here."

"I wouldn't say that I was just fine," Kierlan said, running a hand through his dark hair. "But... wait a minute." His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the room. "Where's Raya?"

Sarah had made her way over to Blade and Kierlan by then and looked between them nervously. Plucking at her ruined sweatshirt, she bit down on her lip and shrugged. "Someone here is the Wild Power," she mumbled, looking upward with a sigh. "The blue fire killed her."

"Someone's the... what?" Blade said, shaking his head. "Goddess, don't tell me that they were actually..."

Kierlan rolled his eyes impatiently a grimace pulling at his lips. "So Circle Daybreak was right. You're number four. Don't look so surprised, more often than not Thierry's right."

Kierlan jammed his hands into the pockets of his black jeans. "Can we go now? I've had enough of this place." His eyes grazed Sarah who had a hand clenched tightly to the back of Blade's bloody shirt.

Sarah shook herself self-consciously, releasing her hold on Blade. She looked around the foyer one last time, a fine shudder running through her body. "All right. Lets go."