Chapter Nine


"You sure know how to get yourself into trouble, don't you?" Thea Harman asked, her large brown eyes concerned and troubled. She took a cloth, soaked it in a basin of warm water, and twisted the excess moisture back into the bowl. Then, lifting the rag in a gentle hand, she wiped at the blood that had dried on Sarah's forehead.

Sarah smiled weakly. She felt sore and stiff, cut up and covered in gore. Lifting her massacred hands, she showed them to Thea, turning them over so the palms were
facing up. "I made a mess of myself, didn't I?"

Thea placed the cloth on the side of the cot Sarah was laying on before taking Sarah's hands in her own, studying them thoughtfully. "Yes, you did." She laid Sarah's hands down, bending over and reaching under the cot before standing back up, her hands filled with gauze bandages, scissors, surgical tape, and a small brown pot filled with some kind of gel.

"I'm going to try to get all the glass out of your cuts, all right?" Thea said softly, starting with Sarah's right palm. "It'll probably hurt a little, but I'll be as gentle as I possibly can."

Sarah nodded once, turning her head away. As grateful as she was to Thea for taking care of her wounds, she's wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to watch. "So is everyone OK?"

Thea used a pair of tweezers to pluck at the glass slivers, starting a pile on a small piece of towel. "Almost everyone. Annabelle Redfern is still missing. You know her right..." Thea paused, the tweezers hanging limply between two fingers. "Well of course you know her. Anyway, Thierry has Daybreak agents out looking for Annabelle. I'm sure they'll find her. And almost everyone else, everyone that you know anyway, made it out safely."

"That's... good," Sarah said, studying the white plaster wall. She was trying to pay attention to Thea, but her eyelids were so heavy. She felt that, if she could just close them, she'd drift off to sleep...

A sudden sharp prick in the center of her hand jolted her back to consciousness. "Blade and Kierlan, they're all right, aren't they?" Sarah asked, the pain shooting through her palm making her want to do something to take her mind off it, even if it was holding polite conversation on a very sensitive subject.

"Oh, of course," Thea said, scooping some pale yellow jelly from the brown pot with a q-tip. She rubbed it onto the cuts on Sarah's hand before starting to wind a soft, gauze bandage around the skin. "Kierlan... well he bounces back from just about anything. And Blade. Aside from being a vampire, it seems that he's also the fourth Wild Power. Lord Thierry and Lady Hannah think that when Blade used his blue fire that it not only killed the dragon but also healed whatever damage Raya did."

Excitement was mounting in Thea's voice. "Iliana Harman's blue fire does something similar to that. And now we have Blade, the fourth."

Sarah turned her head back to the blonde haired witch, flexing her fingers before offering her left hand. "Thea, is Blade going to have to fight in the millennium battle?"

Thea began working on the new set of glass encrusted cuts, her eyes carefully trained on her work. "Well, of course, that's up to him. But we sure do hope that he will. Four less one and darkness triumphs, you know."

"Yes," Sarah said, shutting her eyes. "Can I go see them... him."

"I'm sure that will be fine. He's in a meeting with Lord Thierry right now though," Thea said, already covering the second hand in bandages. "We'll just get you all cleaned up and by then he'll probably be out of his meeting. There's a clean pair of clothes in the bathroom for you."

"Thanks." Sarah opened her eyes and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the cot. She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers at Thea. "And thanks for this. It feels a lot better."

Thea smiled. "That's what I like to hear." She helped Sarah to her feet and gestured to the bathroom door. "I'm sure that you're anxious to see Blade. I'll let you go."

Sarah ducked her head, disappearing into the bathroom. The bright light glared off the mirror hanging above the sink and Sarah's bandaged handed clenched the white porcelain as she looked at her reflection. She couldn't help but crack a smile. Her hair was disheveled and her lip was cut, a small scab already forming on it. A dull ache starting in the back of her head and Sarah was instantly reminded of smacking it against the floor when Rashel had knocked her to the ground.

"Ouch," she said, gingerly touching her lip. Sarah found a small, black comb on the edge of the sink and tugged it through her tangled blonde hair, trying to make herself look somewhat presentable.

She grimaced, the hair pulling on the cut on the back of her scalp and gave up on the comb, gathering the fine strands into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck and fastening it with a clip that had been lying next to the comb. "Good enough," she murmured.

Sarah peeled off the blood soaked clothes, replacing them with a fresh, clean, dark blue sweater and stiff blue jeans. After pulling on a pair of thick white socks, Sarah opened the bathroom door and padded out, surprised to see that Thea had disappeared from the outside room.

She wandering into the hallway, looking up and down the unfamiliar hallway. Kierlan had shown them where the Circle Daybreak Headquarters' Sanctuary was. It was a short, squat building on the edge of Las Vegas. Or at least it appeared to be short and squat. The top floor was above ground, but the remaining floors were built underground, invisible to anyone on the outside. The only way to the lower levels was through a steel trapdoor built into the higher level's floor.

As much as Sarah didn't like being underground, as much as she had felt at first that she was trapped, she had to admit that being in this secret hideaway also made her feel safe.

As Sarah wandered down the hallway, she spotted a tall, dark haired vampire. Setting her shoulders, Sarah went over to him to ask where Thierry's office was. He paused, looking her over before finally deciding that he could, in fact, tell her. Giving her directions that Sarah doubted she was going to remember, she nodded to him and started down the hallway again.

Sarah walked slowly down to the end of the hallway then made the mandatory right, then a left, followed by another series of turns. Finally, after a few minutes, she came to stop in front of a large mahogany door. She lifted a hand to knock, then dropped it, not wanting to interrupt Thierry and Blade's meeting. Sarah let out a heavy sigh and frowned, glancing up and down the hallway as though someone there would be able to help her.

"Looking for someone?" a smooth voice said.

Sarah looked up and saw Kierlan, his arms crossed over his chest. The tall blonde vampire named Ash was standing next to him and wiggled his fingers at Sarah.

"We've met," Ash said before Kierlan had a chance to introduce them. "She was... looking for you." Ash flashed a bright smile.

Sarah smoothed her hair back, flustered. "Yeah, and I did end up finding him the other day. Thanks."

"Well, I'll be seeing you, both of you," Ash said with a careless wave, leaning towards Sarah as he passed her. "Watch yourself."

"I heard that," Kierlan said sharply, watching Ash saunter off down the hallway.

Ash just laughed in response.

Sarah looked away, studying the beige carpeting. "I... how are you?" She looked up at last, startled as she met his eyes.

Kierlan stared at her, unblinking. "Honestly? I've been better. But you look like you took some beating." He closed the distance between them and took her injured hands in his. "Look, Sarah..."

"Kierlan," she started at the same time, her voice trailing off. She bit her lip, tasting the copper flavor of her blood clot. "What are you doing here?"

Kierlan blinked at her sudden change of topic, then shrugged. "In the sanctuary? The same thing as you I suppose. In front of Thierry's office? I needed to speak with him."

"Oh." Sarah pulled her hands away and let them drop limply to her sides. "I was just looking for Blade."

Kierlan was silent for a moment as he looked at some spot on the wall some where above Sarah's head. For a moment, Sarah was terribly frightened that he was going to cry, that this strong man before her, so perfectly in control, so cool and collected, was going to break down in front of her.

Instead, he frowned. "I figured as much," Kierlan said quietly, turning away from her to lean back against the wall.

The mahogany door opened then and Blade stepped out, followed by Thierry.

Thierry was dressed in a black suit, one that set his white blonde hair off to perfection. His black eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled at Blade. "Well you should be safe here. At the very least, we have enough guards protecting you. Welcome to the team."

Blade returned the smile and held out a hand to Thierry. They shook. "I'm glad to be a part of it."

Blade's eyes shifted, seeing the occupants of the hallway at last. "Sarah..." he said in surprise. "And Kierlan." His voice darkened as his eyes narrowed to angry slits.

"Don't bother getting yourself worked up," Kierlan said dangerously, glaring at Blade. "I have a meeting with Thierry."

"One that I'm really looking forward to," Thierry said, one eyebrow raised questioningly. "I can't wait to hear what you needed to meet me so urgently about." Then he smiled at Sarah, gesturing at her. "Kierlan, have you met Sarah Strange? Blade's soulmate. Now we have all four Wild Powers and three of their soulmates. You know the way the prophecy goes."

Kierlan felt his heart sink, dread making his feet leaden. Of course, he had been so stupid. The Wild Powers couldn't fight without their soulmates. Aside from the fact that Sarah had obviously chosen Blade, she *had* to choose Blade. The future of the entire world was at stake.

He let out a short, humorless laugh. "We've met," Kierlan said shortly, following Thierry into his office the door shutting with a bang behind them.

"Blade?" Sarah said hesitantly.

Blade turned to her, looking her over from head to toe, his gaze pausing on the cuts and bruises. On her hands. "Goddess, Sarah, how did I let you get so hurt?" Something shattered in his eyes and Sarah felt herself being swept up in his arms, locked inside the safety he provided.

"It's not your fault," Sarah murmured against his chest, a fine tremor settling over her limbs. "I'm just glad that you're all right."

This was what she had been missing. This warmth, this safety. The security of arms that would never let anything terrible happen to her. It was nothing like being in Kierlan's arms, where every moment was a new jolt of surprise. Kierlan's arms were a place where Sarah didn't know what to expect, where she didn't know how to feel. But Blade...

He was comfortable.

Sarah blushed, instantly regretting the thought and simultaneously glad that Blade couldn't see her flushed cheeks. Comfortable wasn't a very flattering way to describe someone, especially your soulmate

But aside from that, aside from the comfort, the fact that there was no where in the world that she felt safer, Blade was humanity's future, he had to save the world. And he needed her help to do it.

*Great,* Sarah thought, her mental voice obviously mocking her. *Comfortable and necessary. How... thrilling.*

*Shut up,* she told it savagely, tightening her grip on Blade, fingers tangling in his shirt.

"It's all right," Blade was saying softly. "I forgive you. After thinking about it, I know that what happened couldn't have possibly been your fault. It was that witch. He's so arrogant that he just can't stand the fact that he can't have whoever he wants whenever he wants them."

Sarah looked up at Blade, surprised by the vehemence of his words. She opened her mouth to object but Blade quickly put a finger to her lips.

"Now, don't try to argue. You're just noble enough to do that," he said with a slight, crooked smile.

*Funny,* Sarah thought vaguely. *I never noticed the blind trust in his eyes, the way his eyes glaze over when he looks at me, as though he's not really seeing *me* but the idea of what I am to him.

Sarah turned her head away, not trusting herself to look at Blade. She wanted to scream, wanting to insist that it wasn't Kierlan's fault, that it had never been Kierlan's fault. That Kierlan was her soulmate too.

But she couldn't. Her lips remained pressed together, the blood draining from them, turning the skin bluish white.

"I love you, Blade," she said softly, shutting her eyes and leaning against him.

Comfortable and necessary.


**************************************************************

Sarah was sitting in a small room, feet hanging over the edge of an apple green velvet chair. She was watching the crackling fire, alone for the first time since meeting up with Blade earlier in the day.

Sarah supposed that she should try to sleep, fatigue was weighing heavily on her eyelids. But that was simply impossible. She always saw Kierlan when she closed her eyes.

The flames lept and danced, spiraling around one another, and Sarah was instantly reminded of the orange witch fire, the dragon's dark energy, and the brilliant blue fire. *We all almost died.*

She started in shock when she heard a voice from behind her. Sarah sat up quickly, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Kierlan, the collar of his leather jacket turned up, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder.

"I just came to say goodbye," he said, voice hushed as though he were afraid to disturb the peace in the room.

Sarah scrambled off the chair, almost stubbing her toe, standing to face him. "What? What are you talking about? Where are you going?" She felt a sudden lump of dread in her throat.

"Away," Kierlan said. "You didn't expect me to stay here while you lived the rest of your happy life with Blade, did you?"

Sarah looked around the room desperately, as though she could find some help from the dark green wallpaper. "But you can't just *leave.* Don't you work for Circle Daybreak."

"I got Thierry to give me a leave of absence. That's what the meeting was about earlier."

Sarah froze, lifting her eyes to Kierlan's. "You can't leave."

"I can and I am." Kierlan shrugged, switching his bag from one shoulder to the other. "Come on, you've got Blade to take care of you. You'll be fine."

"But... I don't want you to leave."

Kierlan laughed hollowly, shaking his head. "You can't have it both ways, Sarah. You chose Blade. In a way, you *had* to choose Blade. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner."

Sarah's eyes widened, shining with tears. Kierlan had seen it too, realized that to fulfill the prophecy about the Wild Powers, Sarah would have to stand at Blade's side. "But I don't *want* you to leave," she whispered, her voice cracking. She wrapped her arms around herself, a chill snaking its way up her spine, backing away from him.

"Sarah... please don't." Kierlan dropped the duffel bag to the floor as though it were too heavy for him. He started towards her his eyes wide and looking terribly bruised. "Don't cry, it's not worth it. You have to be with Blade, you know that. He needs you to help him fight in the millennium battle. *He* needs *you.*"

Sarah's breath came out in a shuddering sob. "And you don't? You don't... need me?"

"That's not what I said," Kierlan replied slowly, reaching out a hand to her. "You know that's not what I said."

Sarah shook her head at him, her shoulder's shaking. "Go on, leave. You said you were leaving, so go."

Kierlan's eyes widened even further, his resolve breaking up into an icy sea of anguish. "I didn't want to say goodbye this way."

"How else did you want to say it Kierlan? How?" Sarah's expression hardened as she tried desperately to turn her sorrow into anger. At least anger was something she could cling to, something that might get her through this. "Did you think that I'd just tell you goodbye, let you walk away like the hero? Giving the poor confused girl an easy out for the greater good? And since when do you even care about the greater good? That's just not you!"

Kierlan stopped in midstride, his outstretched hand dropping to his side. His eyes narrowed, shackles going up. "Of course. You're the expert," he said with a short bark of laughter. "And you're so very right. So if you want me to be honest, I'm leaving because I've had just about enough of everyone's sniveling. And, between you and me? Blade doesn't have what it takes to be the Fourth. He'll probably be the first to die in the battle."

Sarah's breath caught in her throat. "You..." She grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, a wooden flower, its petals painted black, and threw it at him with all her strength.

Kierlan caught it easily, his fingers closing around the stem in a bone crushing grip. He lifted an eyebrow and watched her wordlessly.

"You're disgusting. I hate you," Sarah said, fury making redness creep up her cheeks.

"My dear, we're finally on the same wavelength," Kierlan said gesturing at her with the flower. Then he knelt and picked up his duffel bag, turning to leave. "Goodbye Sarah."