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Chapter Seven
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"No." The sound was so loud in comparison with the quiet that had settled over the clearing. It rang in Serena's ears and it took her about ten seconds to realize it had come from Raye.
"No. Diamond." it was a brief whisper and Serena turned to look at her friend. Raye was kneeling on the ground behind her, purple eyes livid with tears. She stood up slowly and walked past Serena, her entire focus on Diamond.
She came to a halt directly in front of him, not quite closely to touch, and turned a terrible sad face up to him. She didn't speak at first and as Serena watched Diamond took his gaze from Andrew and rested it on Raye. A mask of impartiality covered the vulnerability that had shown there a moment before.
"You said you loved me." Raye said it quietly and somehow her voice was steady. Serena sucked her breath in, afraid to say anything.
Diamond was silent. He dropped the hood to the ground and kept eye contact with Raye as he raised one hand up to touch her cheek. She half-closed her eyes and leaned her face into the caress. Gently he slid his hand down till it rested against her throat.
With a sudden violent wrench he grabbed her throat and hurled her into a tree. Raye screamed before falling to the ground. She didn't move.
"I lied." Diamond said simply drawing Serena's horrified attention back to him. He turned to look at her. She scrambled to her feet and backed away. "Serena." he murmured softly taking a step towards her.
"Stay away!" Serena yelled as she stumbled back a little more. Her eyes were wide with shock. "You're crazy. You just killed two of my best friends!" she accused.
He shrugged his shoulders and stopped where he was. "I'd do anything to have you." he told her.
She shuddered and looked away. Suddenly she flicked her hand out and forward, but the knife missed by a mile, embedding itself into a tree trunk. She was shaking so badly her aim was completely off. And she was out of weapons except the bokken.
She reached up and gripped the handle before pulling it out of the sheath. It felt amazingly light and she looked down to discover a half-foot of wood in her hands with a splintered end. Somehow she had broken it. She groaned and tossed the wood angrily to the side. Then she lost her anger, and depression overwhelmed her. She slumped her shoulders and waited.
Diamond smirked and took another step towards her. "Don't worry, Serena. I'll take care of everything now. You don't have to fight me."
She stood where she was, shaking, her eyes cast on the ground till he stepped into her view. She stared at the boots and didn't attempt to move away as he put an arm around her waist and drew her close to him. There was no point in fighting any more. Raye and Andrew were dead.
Serena shut her eyes tight as two hot tears slid down her cheeks. She'd failed.
Diamond cupped her chin in one hand and lifted her face upwards. She kept her eyes closed and didn't flinch away when she felt chapped hands gently brush her cheek.
She set herself for the inevitable and wasn't surprised when his mouth suddenly covered her's. The intensity did surprise her, though. Andrew, the only other guy she had ever kissed, was always gentle, slow.
Diamond was attempting to possess her. She felt crushed under his want and didn't attempt to respond as his lips crushed hers. She resolutely kept her lips locked together, keeping the kiss some-what chaste despite Diamond's attempts to the contrary. Finally, he pulled away.
She turned her head away as she a number of more tears slipped from her eyes.
"Serena." she didn't respond. Didn't even acknowledge him. Her heart was completely shattered. He'd killed her when Andrew died. There was a hole in her heart, in her soul, that ached to be filled. But Diamond could never fill it. She doubted any one could.
"Serena." The word was a command. A harsh one that Serena didn't dare disobey. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. His eyes locked with her's and for a moment he didn't speak.
He opened his mouth and Serena broke eye contact. She never heard what he said because as soon as she glanced over his shoulder her attention was drawn to the shadow under the tree. The one with Darien's eyes, hair and build.
Her eyes widened fractionally and she looked away, forcing her gaze to Diamond. Hope lit a fire deep inside her and she knew she had to keep Diamond talking. She couldn't let him know Darien was there. And Serena fervently hoped Darien was there to help her.
"Damn him. He did it again!" Darien growled as he walked along the sidewalk. Yet again, to Darien's everlasting annoyance, Diamond had stolen the costume and gone off into the night. And now Darien had to go find his friend.
Darien had heard the rumors of people seeing the Mask in town. He'd been annoyed at first, certain they were making it up. After all, they had their own fighter, the Moon Stalker, why did they need to pretend the Mask was there too?
But then he'd noticed how late Diamond was coming in. And the fact that he couldn't find the costume last night had finally clicked it all together.
Darien had moved to the States to retire. He had been the Mask for years in Australia and he was tired of it. He'd trained a replacement and turned the title over to him. But for some reason he had kept the costume. Nostalgic intentions, he supposed.
Diamond, his best friend for years, had decided to come with him. Darien had been hesitant. He'd wanted a new life, but Diamond was his friend. He'd agreed and now he was deeply regretting it.
Diamond had done this at times in Australia. He took the costume and used it to get girls. Darien snorted in remembrance. He'd always wiped their memories afterwards. You couldn't have people running around saying they knew the Mask and that he was a vampire.
That was what really irked Darien. Diamond 'caught' girls to feed off them. And that was just wrong. Darien was human, and he had kept Diamond's secret when they first met, but at the moment he was sincerely wishing he had just stabbed the guy at some point.
His fears hit a high when he heard the scream.
His legs, accustomed to racing to the scene of the crime, immediately took off into the woods.
Red covered his vision when he saw Serena in Diamond's arms. The feeling of anger increased when he noticed Andrew on the ground. He took a step forward and almost tripped over something else.
Looking down he saw it was Raye. He quickly checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. It was slow, but strong. She would be okay till he could get her professional help.
He looked up to see Diamond kiss Serena and almost launched himself at Diamond that very moment. But he held back, crouched in the edge of the forest, till Diamond broke the kiss pulling back.
They didn't seem to be talking, just staring. He stood up as Serena looked over. He saw her eyes widen and she suddenly turned back to Diamond.
Good girl. Darien thought with approval. He looked around quickly. He need something. that. He needed that.
He crept a little ways around the clearing till he came to the broken peice of bokken. Slowly he picked it up and examined it. Perfect.
He moved back around till he was directly behind Diamond. Slowly he stood up and crept out into the clearing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serena caught her breath when she noticed Darien pick up the broken bokken out of the corner of her eye. She shifted slightly in Diamond's arms and he stopped talking abruptly.
Serena hoped desperately that he hadn't asked her a question. She hadn't been paying attention and now his complete attention was on her.
Serena's eyes widened as Darien stepped on a twig and froze.
"Did you hear something?" Diamond asked his gaze coming off Serena. He moved to turn around and Serena desperately threw her arms around his shoulder.
"What? I didn't here anything!" She giggled, desperately, but it worked. He turned back to look at her. "You know Diamond. I've been thinking. I really didn't give you a fair chance. I mean, you are so cute and all and I just went with. Andrew. without a second thought." She choked slightly on his name, willing the tears down.
Diamond smirked. "Seeing your mistake, dear?" he murmured. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Serena smiled.
"Yeah well. everyone makes mistakes."
"I can forgive you, Serena. If you promise to be mine forever."
"Forever.?" She choked out slowly.
"Forever." He practically moaned as he lowered his lips to her neck. She looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Darien. Desperation showed clearly in her eyes and he nodded as he again began to creep up close to Diamond's exposed back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien gritted his teeth in annoyance as the twig snapped. He frozen, every muscle taunt as Serena managed to distract Diamond.
He was just close enough to hear what they were saying and he stiffened at Diamond's proposal. He noticed that Serena did manage to avoid promising anything, but a new urgency hit him. Diamond was moving closer to his throat.
Darien was coldly certain that Serena did not know Diamond was a vampire. But Darien was quite sure he could see what he was up to.
He caught Serena's eyes and nodded to her. He hated that look of depression on her face. She was completely ready to give in. He glanced at Andrew's body and saw the wound for the first time. So that was it. Andrew was dead and she probably thought Raye was too.
He almost growled in his throat, but caught himself as he sneaked closer and closer. He was only a few steps away when Serena's eyes suddenly widened and a scream erupted from her throat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At first Serena was just shocked when she thought she felt the brush of teeth on her neck. The next second she hit a total shock when she felt Diamond suddenly bury his teeth in her throat. It was a moment later when the pain of giving blood unwillingly caused her to scream.
It hurt like hell. The blood was being pulled against her will out of her system. And harshly. Diamond had her arms pressed against her side and was sucking harshly nipping her skin every once in a while.
She tried to pull away, but that only caused it to hurt more. And there was a pressure on her mind. It felt like a reverse of her connection with Andrew.
Diamond was attempting to cause a connection mind to mind. But he couldn't connect with Serena. For some reason he couldn't get into her mind.
Serena was grateful for the silver lining.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A roar erupted from Darien's throat as he lunged the last few paces. Diamond jumped away, turning a shocked face in Darien's direction. The shock intensified as the broken bokken plunged into his chest.
He stumbled back, staring stupidly at the handle and clutching it with his hands. After a moment, his arms dropped to his side and he turned pained eyes up to Darien.
He fell to his knees and then gasped. Blood came out of the corner of his mouth and Darien wondered perversely if it was Serena's blood.
"Darien."
He looked at Diamond. Purple eyes clashed with dark blue and Darien flinched away. He didn't see regret in Diamond's eyes, but he say a lost little boy. Someone who had done something horrible and known it, but wanted it any way. It tore Darien's heart in half and when he looked again, Diamond was slumped on the ground, face turned away from Darien.
"Darien." this weak cry came from behind him and he whirled around to see Serena had also slumped to the ground. She was collapsed in a sitting position with her hands clutched convulsively around her neck. He dropped next to her and pulled her into his arms.
Her eyes were wide and staring into nothing. He stroked her back and slowly lifted her into his arms.
"It's okay, Serena. Don't worry."
She focused on him for a moment, then her eyes dropped shut as she fainted in his arms.
Chapter Seven
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"No." The sound was so loud in comparison with the quiet that had settled over the clearing. It rang in Serena's ears and it took her about ten seconds to realize it had come from Raye.
"No. Diamond." it was a brief whisper and Serena turned to look at her friend. Raye was kneeling on the ground behind her, purple eyes livid with tears. She stood up slowly and walked past Serena, her entire focus on Diamond.
She came to a halt directly in front of him, not quite closely to touch, and turned a terrible sad face up to him. She didn't speak at first and as Serena watched Diamond took his gaze from Andrew and rested it on Raye. A mask of impartiality covered the vulnerability that had shown there a moment before.
"You said you loved me." Raye said it quietly and somehow her voice was steady. Serena sucked her breath in, afraid to say anything.
Diamond was silent. He dropped the hood to the ground and kept eye contact with Raye as he raised one hand up to touch her cheek. She half-closed her eyes and leaned her face into the caress. Gently he slid his hand down till it rested against her throat.
With a sudden violent wrench he grabbed her throat and hurled her into a tree. Raye screamed before falling to the ground. She didn't move.
"I lied." Diamond said simply drawing Serena's horrified attention back to him. He turned to look at her. She scrambled to her feet and backed away. "Serena." he murmured softly taking a step towards her.
"Stay away!" Serena yelled as she stumbled back a little more. Her eyes were wide with shock. "You're crazy. You just killed two of my best friends!" she accused.
He shrugged his shoulders and stopped where he was. "I'd do anything to have you." he told her.
She shuddered and looked away. Suddenly she flicked her hand out and forward, but the knife missed by a mile, embedding itself into a tree trunk. She was shaking so badly her aim was completely off. And she was out of weapons except the bokken.
She reached up and gripped the handle before pulling it out of the sheath. It felt amazingly light and she looked down to discover a half-foot of wood in her hands with a splintered end. Somehow she had broken it. She groaned and tossed the wood angrily to the side. Then she lost her anger, and depression overwhelmed her. She slumped her shoulders and waited.
Diamond smirked and took another step towards her. "Don't worry, Serena. I'll take care of everything now. You don't have to fight me."
She stood where she was, shaking, her eyes cast on the ground till he stepped into her view. She stared at the boots and didn't attempt to move away as he put an arm around her waist and drew her close to him. There was no point in fighting any more. Raye and Andrew were dead.
Serena shut her eyes tight as two hot tears slid down her cheeks. She'd failed.
Diamond cupped her chin in one hand and lifted her face upwards. She kept her eyes closed and didn't flinch away when she felt chapped hands gently brush her cheek.
She set herself for the inevitable and wasn't surprised when his mouth suddenly covered her's. The intensity did surprise her, though. Andrew, the only other guy she had ever kissed, was always gentle, slow.
Diamond was attempting to possess her. She felt crushed under his want and didn't attempt to respond as his lips crushed hers. She resolutely kept her lips locked together, keeping the kiss some-what chaste despite Diamond's attempts to the contrary. Finally, he pulled away.
She turned her head away as she a number of more tears slipped from her eyes.
"Serena." she didn't respond. Didn't even acknowledge him. Her heart was completely shattered. He'd killed her when Andrew died. There was a hole in her heart, in her soul, that ached to be filled. But Diamond could never fill it. She doubted any one could.
"Serena." The word was a command. A harsh one that Serena didn't dare disobey. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. His eyes locked with her's and for a moment he didn't speak.
He opened his mouth and Serena broke eye contact. She never heard what he said because as soon as she glanced over his shoulder her attention was drawn to the shadow under the tree. The one with Darien's eyes, hair and build.
Her eyes widened fractionally and she looked away, forcing her gaze to Diamond. Hope lit a fire deep inside her and she knew she had to keep Diamond talking. She couldn't let him know Darien was there. And Serena fervently hoped Darien was there to help her.
"Damn him. He did it again!" Darien growled as he walked along the sidewalk. Yet again, to Darien's everlasting annoyance, Diamond had stolen the costume and gone off into the night. And now Darien had to go find his friend.
Darien had heard the rumors of people seeing the Mask in town. He'd been annoyed at first, certain they were making it up. After all, they had their own fighter, the Moon Stalker, why did they need to pretend the Mask was there too?
But then he'd noticed how late Diamond was coming in. And the fact that he couldn't find the costume last night had finally clicked it all together.
Darien had moved to the States to retire. He had been the Mask for years in Australia and he was tired of it. He'd trained a replacement and turned the title over to him. But for some reason he had kept the costume. Nostalgic intentions, he supposed.
Diamond, his best friend for years, had decided to come with him. Darien had been hesitant. He'd wanted a new life, but Diamond was his friend. He'd agreed and now he was deeply regretting it.
Diamond had done this at times in Australia. He took the costume and used it to get girls. Darien snorted in remembrance. He'd always wiped their memories afterwards. You couldn't have people running around saying they knew the Mask and that he was a vampire.
That was what really irked Darien. Diamond 'caught' girls to feed off them. And that was just wrong. Darien was human, and he had kept Diamond's secret when they first met, but at the moment he was sincerely wishing he had just stabbed the guy at some point.
His fears hit a high when he heard the scream.
His legs, accustomed to racing to the scene of the crime, immediately took off into the woods.
Red covered his vision when he saw Serena in Diamond's arms. The feeling of anger increased when he noticed Andrew on the ground. He took a step forward and almost tripped over something else.
Looking down he saw it was Raye. He quickly checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief. It was slow, but strong. She would be okay till he could get her professional help.
He looked up to see Diamond kiss Serena and almost launched himself at Diamond that very moment. But he held back, crouched in the edge of the forest, till Diamond broke the kiss pulling back.
They didn't seem to be talking, just staring. He stood up as Serena looked over. He saw her eyes widen and she suddenly turned back to Diamond.
Good girl. Darien thought with approval. He looked around quickly. He need something. that. He needed that.
He crept a little ways around the clearing till he came to the broken peice of bokken. Slowly he picked it up and examined it. Perfect.
He moved back around till he was directly behind Diamond. Slowly he stood up and crept out into the clearing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serena caught her breath when she noticed Darien pick up the broken bokken out of the corner of her eye. She shifted slightly in Diamond's arms and he stopped talking abruptly.
Serena hoped desperately that he hadn't asked her a question. She hadn't been paying attention and now his complete attention was on her.
Serena's eyes widened as Darien stepped on a twig and froze.
"Did you hear something?" Diamond asked his gaze coming off Serena. He moved to turn around and Serena desperately threw her arms around his shoulder.
"What? I didn't here anything!" She giggled, desperately, but it worked. He turned back to look at her. "You know Diamond. I've been thinking. I really didn't give you a fair chance. I mean, you are so cute and all and I just went with. Andrew. without a second thought." She choked slightly on his name, willing the tears down.
Diamond smirked. "Seeing your mistake, dear?" he murmured. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. Serena smiled.
"Yeah well. everyone makes mistakes."
"I can forgive you, Serena. If you promise to be mine forever."
"Forever.?" She choked out slowly.
"Forever." He practically moaned as he lowered his lips to her neck. She looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Darien. Desperation showed clearly in her eyes and he nodded as he again began to creep up close to Diamond's exposed back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darien gritted his teeth in annoyance as the twig snapped. He frozen, every muscle taunt as Serena managed to distract Diamond.
He was just close enough to hear what they were saying and he stiffened at Diamond's proposal. He noticed that Serena did manage to avoid promising anything, but a new urgency hit him. Diamond was moving closer to his throat.
Darien was coldly certain that Serena did not know Diamond was a vampire. But Darien was quite sure he could see what he was up to.
He caught Serena's eyes and nodded to her. He hated that look of depression on her face. She was completely ready to give in. He glanced at Andrew's body and saw the wound for the first time. So that was it. Andrew was dead and she probably thought Raye was too.
He almost growled in his throat, but caught himself as he sneaked closer and closer. He was only a few steps away when Serena's eyes suddenly widened and a scream erupted from her throat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At first Serena was just shocked when she thought she felt the brush of teeth on her neck. The next second she hit a total shock when she felt Diamond suddenly bury his teeth in her throat. It was a moment later when the pain of giving blood unwillingly caused her to scream.
It hurt like hell. The blood was being pulled against her will out of her system. And harshly. Diamond had her arms pressed against her side and was sucking harshly nipping her skin every once in a while.
She tried to pull away, but that only caused it to hurt more. And there was a pressure on her mind. It felt like a reverse of her connection with Andrew.
Diamond was attempting to cause a connection mind to mind. But he couldn't connect with Serena. For some reason he couldn't get into her mind.
Serena was grateful for the silver lining.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A roar erupted from Darien's throat as he lunged the last few paces. Diamond jumped away, turning a shocked face in Darien's direction. The shock intensified as the broken bokken plunged into his chest.
He stumbled back, staring stupidly at the handle and clutching it with his hands. After a moment, his arms dropped to his side and he turned pained eyes up to Darien.
He fell to his knees and then gasped. Blood came out of the corner of his mouth and Darien wondered perversely if it was Serena's blood.
"Darien."
He looked at Diamond. Purple eyes clashed with dark blue and Darien flinched away. He didn't see regret in Diamond's eyes, but he say a lost little boy. Someone who had done something horrible and known it, but wanted it any way. It tore Darien's heart in half and when he looked again, Diamond was slumped on the ground, face turned away from Darien.
"Darien." this weak cry came from behind him and he whirled around to see Serena had also slumped to the ground. She was collapsed in a sitting position with her hands clutched convulsively around her neck. He dropped next to her and pulled her into his arms.
Her eyes were wide and staring into nothing. He stroked her back and slowly lifted her into his arms.
"It's okay, Serena. Don't worry."
She focused on him for a moment, then her eyes dropped shut as she fainted in his arms.