Chapter 9
"I was part of Circle Daybreak a few years back. My job was to go with an ambassador group and try and make peace with the Hunters. In doing so, we ended up telling them a little too much about the Night World. One day, we were jumped by some rogue vampires. They killed all but two of us. Myself and Clint, who was ten at the time. They left us when a hunting party saw them and gave chase. I was grateful to them, but I couldn't join them and hunt down my friends. Marik and I met at a Circle Midnight meeting, and he told me about you guys and Circle Starlight. He said that I would be a good spy for you, if I could get myself accepted as a Hunter. I did, but to tell you the truth, I've never killed anyone before. Marik and I were the only ones who knew what I was doing, but now you know too. So, am I forgiven? I didn't know that Peter and Patrick were part of this group, or I would have told them in private at the Hunter's hideout." Marik backed her up.
"She really had no place to go. She and Gepard are living together in an apartment. I'd take her in, but Austin might get jealous," he teased as Austin almost choked when he got Marik's little "message".
"Oh very funny. Like I'd pull that on any girl?" Gepard just laughed.
"What do you say guys? Do we accept her, or run her through?" Alex asked, a smile on his face. The others pretended to be pondering a difficult question. Finally, Amy spoke up.
"Sure, why not?" she said, coming up to Melody. Peter and Patrick were the last ones to stand up from a ready-to-fight stance. They still didn't trust this girl. Angel relaxed. The crisis was over for now. John's eyes were roaming over Gepard, Austin, Marik, and Melody. All of a sudden, he got a weird gleam in his eyes.
"I know why you're so friendly with each other. I bet you four are soulmates," he said, proud that he had "detected" the signs. Gepard suddenly started laughing hysterically. Austin folded his arms over his chest and just looked at John like You're kidding, right? Marik smiled at Melody, who blushed and turned away.
"Actually John, they're not soulmates. What they have is better than being eternally joined," Sage explained, regaining his voice. Alex looked confused.
"If they don't have a soulmate bond, what do they have?" he asked, staring at the two couples. Leah answered him softly, a warm smile coming to her face.
"They have love," she said simply. "Or at least Marik and Melody do. Austin... We're really not sure of yet." Corinne, Bobbi, and Gepard all pretended to gag as Tyrna, Amber, and Melody sent them black looks.
"So now what do we do? We have three spies, and one very impatient Hunter Redfern," Luke reminded everyone. All eyes immediately centered on Angel, Dahlia, Skye, Lyca, and Leah.
"I say we blow this place and catch us some fast food," Dahlia suggested. Peter jumped in with his usual dumb comment.
"Cool, I like McDonald's...Burger King...Domino's...Chinese?" he said, when they all looked at him. Angel put her head in her hands and slowly counted to ten before looking at him again.
"She means that we should go hunting," Lyca told him. Peter then realized what she meant.
"If it's all right with everyone else, we witches that aren't vampires will just go outside for some fresh air. Oh, and Leah too," Kat said. They walked out of the room and up the stairs. Once outside, all the hunters transformed. Bobbi felt herself shrinking and strengthening. Mike felt his tail growing as he stood on four legs. Stripes ran down Silver's body as Dahlia grew whiskers on her face. Lilli's arms widened and grew feathers. Gepard's body was covered with black dots, and Jake seemed to glow as white hair covered him. Sage faded into the night as black hair sprouted all over his body. Lyca kicked off her shirt as her hands disappeared. She already had a gray wolf's body underneath. Angel's eyes glowed a deep violet, then a light blue, and then a burnt-amber. Corinne's eyes became filled with a hunting light. Tyrna's hands looked like a cat's claws. Alex and Amy seemed to grow taller. Alan and Matt looked as if they could tear someone apart with their bare hands. John's body seemed to bulk up even further, and Patrick seemed to get even skinnier. Luke felt his canines extend. Amber's eyes were no longer blue, or even ice-blue. Instead, they were just ICE. Austin felt as if a river of strength was flowing through him. Marik's pupils dilated like a cat's, giving him better night-vision. When all the changes were complete, two tigers, a bobcat, a mountain lion, a cheetah, a falcon, three wolves, and thirteen vampires were standing where once a group of "humans" had been. Sage turned to Peter and used telepathy to talk to him.
'Want to come hunting with me?' he asked, sounding exactly like someone asking you to play Nintendo with them. Peter hesitated, but finally answered.
"Okay, I'll come. I'm going to have to hunt on my own in a few days anyway." Angel just gave a short laugh.
"Sure vermin. Whatever you say," she teased, taking off for the woods. The others split up accordingly. Corinne and Alan went down a bike trail, while Tyrna and Matt jumped into the trees. Silver and Lyca ran off down a weed- strewn path, while Dahlia followed Angel. Jake trotted into some bushes and disappeared. Sage headed up the hill, and Peter followed him at a run. Patrick and John scrambled into the lower tree-cover. Amber and Luke walked calmly into the valley. Alex and Amy ran across the meadow. Gepard and Austin just took off running. Lilli spread her wings and took to the sky. Bobbi and Mike took a winding trail towards a small lake. Marik climbed up some nearby boulders and headed up a mountain trail.
"When will they be back?" Kat asked. Skye shrugged.
"I suppose they'll return when they're done eating," Leah put in. All the other girls then said as one:
"Aahh. Good point, Leah."
* * *
They were all in a serious debate about the Wild Powers when everyone started coming back. Angel and Dahlia -in human form- emerged from the trees. Lilli touched down and changed back. Marik came jogging down the rocky trail, wiping the blood off his mouth. Jake, Alex, and Amy broke through the underbrush, racing to the tree. Gepard and Austin came walking back, both voicing their opinions on Circle Daybreak. Amber and Luke walked back arm in arm, looking like an ordinary teen couple in the moonlight. Patrick and John jumped down from the trees. Silver and Lyca, both in shifted form, walked calmly up from the woods. Tyrna and Matt strode out of the woods, wiping the blood off their hands and onto their clothes. Corinne and Alan came tearing down the bike trail chasing a chipmunk, who evaded them and zipped down a hole. Sage and Peter came down from the hill, Sage looking at Peter with a Never again look. Peter's face was a very pale white. Bobbi and Mike came back from the lake. Both of them were soaking wet. Angel held up her hand for attention. "First off, I want to know why you two are dripping wet." she said, pointing to Bobbi and Mike. They just looked at each other and shrugged.
"We were fishing," Bobbi explained as Amber started giggling.
"Yeah right. What did you do, fall in?" Luke asked as Mike turned red. The others all started to laugh.
"As a matter of fact, we went for a big trout at the same time. We mixed up our claws and fell in," Mike replied.
"Next, I would really love to hear how Peter was during the hunt, Sage," Angel continued, grinning from ear to ear in devilish delight. Peter squirmed uncomfortably and Sage hesitated before answering.
"Well, for a human he did... Okay. But he still needs practice."
"What happened out there, Sage?" Austin asked, looking eager to know. Again, Sage hesitated.
"I spotted a three-point buck. Really big animal for how young it was. Anyway, I jumped it and killed it. Peter turned a little pale during the attack, but that's natural. Then when I was eating he threw up! But then again, I guess that's a normal human reaction," he said as the entire group burst out in hysterical laughter.
"You threw up?" Gepard asked, barely getting the words out.
"Gross!" Corinne and Alan yelled together. Leah tried to talk calmly, but even she was laughing.
"Sage, I don't throw up when I see an animal or vampire feeding," she reminded him. Angel and Dahlia laughed even harder.
"But Leah, we never said you were a normal human," Dahlia replied, trying to suppress her laughter. Leah reflected on this for a moment, and then decided that Dahlia was right.
"So what were you little magick-makers debating about so loudly?" Matt asked, facing the witches.
"We were talking about the Wild Powers," Skye answered.
"What about them?" Amber asked, sitting cross-legged on the grass. The others followed her example.
"We were trying to figure out who they might be," Melody said, getting comfortable next to Marik.
"Isn't one of them supposed to be the Witch Child?" Tyrna wondered, joining in the discussion.
"Witch Child? Who's that?" Peter asked, always curious.
"The Witch Child is a young girl who's a complete innocent. She's also supposed to marry the son of the First House of Shape-shifters." Amy told him. Peter looked at Dahlia.
"The son? That means that you're..." he left off there, using his hands to ask her if she was pregnant. Angel would've hit him, but Dahlia got there first. Peter slowly got up from the ground and crawled the few feet back to his spot. A red hand print was already showing on his face. Dahlia was fuming.
"You sick bastard! The son of the First House is my brother! I'm daughter of the First House! Do I look pregnant to you?" Peter slowly shook his head.
"No, but you look human, so how can I tell?" he added, rubbing the side of his face. Sage decided to back his friend up.
"Actually, being a human, he doesn't know whose parents are who, who has cousins here, and so on. Its perfectly logical for Peter to assume that Dahlia, as a female member of the First House, would have a son that would be promised to the Witch Child." Angel sent him an evil look.
"Do us all a favor, Sage. Don't go there." Sage decided to shut up.
"Okay. Now that we've all had a little fun, I'll ask my question again. What are we going to do about the Hunters?" Luke asked. The others considered his question. Melody then spoke up.
"We'll go back to them tomorrow and tell them a place where a "meeting" of Circle Midnight will take place. When they show up, we'll be ready," she suggested, smiling a little evil smile. Angel nodded her head in agreement.
"That sounds like a good idea. You'll tell them tomorrow morning, then tomorrow night, we'll have our little fight with them," she added.
"I suggest we get at least some sleep tonight. That way, we'll be fully rested for tomorrow," Leah proposed.
"Are you going to fight, Leah?" Jake asked, looking at the human girl. She just shrugged her shoulders.
"We'll see." Alex opened the door and they all descended the stairs. Angel, Lilli, and Kat went into their room to sleep. Gepard, Corrine, and Bobbi decided to share Bobbi's room. Mike went in with Alan and Austin. Amber moved her stuff into Tyrna's room, and Melody joined them as well. Matt and Luke dropped their stuff in Marik's room. Amy, Skye, and Silver took control of a room. Lyca and Leah decided to sleep in Dahlia's room. Sage, Jake, and Peter slept in their original room, and Alex moved in with Patrick and John. Climbing into their beds, they were all soon fast asleep, dreaming about the glorious day ahead.
"I was part of Circle Daybreak a few years back. My job was to go with an ambassador group and try and make peace with the Hunters. In doing so, we ended up telling them a little too much about the Night World. One day, we were jumped by some rogue vampires. They killed all but two of us. Myself and Clint, who was ten at the time. They left us when a hunting party saw them and gave chase. I was grateful to them, but I couldn't join them and hunt down my friends. Marik and I met at a Circle Midnight meeting, and he told me about you guys and Circle Starlight. He said that I would be a good spy for you, if I could get myself accepted as a Hunter. I did, but to tell you the truth, I've never killed anyone before. Marik and I were the only ones who knew what I was doing, but now you know too. So, am I forgiven? I didn't know that Peter and Patrick were part of this group, or I would have told them in private at the Hunter's hideout." Marik backed her up.
"She really had no place to go. She and Gepard are living together in an apartment. I'd take her in, but Austin might get jealous," he teased as Austin almost choked when he got Marik's little "message".
"Oh very funny. Like I'd pull that on any girl?" Gepard just laughed.
"What do you say guys? Do we accept her, or run her through?" Alex asked, a smile on his face. The others pretended to be pondering a difficult question. Finally, Amy spoke up.
"Sure, why not?" she said, coming up to Melody. Peter and Patrick were the last ones to stand up from a ready-to-fight stance. They still didn't trust this girl. Angel relaxed. The crisis was over for now. John's eyes were roaming over Gepard, Austin, Marik, and Melody. All of a sudden, he got a weird gleam in his eyes.
"I know why you're so friendly with each other. I bet you four are soulmates," he said, proud that he had "detected" the signs. Gepard suddenly started laughing hysterically. Austin folded his arms over his chest and just looked at John like You're kidding, right? Marik smiled at Melody, who blushed and turned away.
"Actually John, they're not soulmates. What they have is better than being eternally joined," Sage explained, regaining his voice. Alex looked confused.
"If they don't have a soulmate bond, what do they have?" he asked, staring at the two couples. Leah answered him softly, a warm smile coming to her face.
"They have love," she said simply. "Or at least Marik and Melody do. Austin... We're really not sure of yet." Corinne, Bobbi, and Gepard all pretended to gag as Tyrna, Amber, and Melody sent them black looks.
"So now what do we do? We have three spies, and one very impatient Hunter Redfern," Luke reminded everyone. All eyes immediately centered on Angel, Dahlia, Skye, Lyca, and Leah.
"I say we blow this place and catch us some fast food," Dahlia suggested. Peter jumped in with his usual dumb comment.
"Cool, I like McDonald's...Burger King...Domino's...Chinese?" he said, when they all looked at him. Angel put her head in her hands and slowly counted to ten before looking at him again.
"She means that we should go hunting," Lyca told him. Peter then realized what she meant.
"If it's all right with everyone else, we witches that aren't vampires will just go outside for some fresh air. Oh, and Leah too," Kat said. They walked out of the room and up the stairs. Once outside, all the hunters transformed. Bobbi felt herself shrinking and strengthening. Mike felt his tail growing as he stood on four legs. Stripes ran down Silver's body as Dahlia grew whiskers on her face. Lilli's arms widened and grew feathers. Gepard's body was covered with black dots, and Jake seemed to glow as white hair covered him. Sage faded into the night as black hair sprouted all over his body. Lyca kicked off her shirt as her hands disappeared. She already had a gray wolf's body underneath. Angel's eyes glowed a deep violet, then a light blue, and then a burnt-amber. Corinne's eyes became filled with a hunting light. Tyrna's hands looked like a cat's claws. Alex and Amy seemed to grow taller. Alan and Matt looked as if they could tear someone apart with their bare hands. John's body seemed to bulk up even further, and Patrick seemed to get even skinnier. Luke felt his canines extend. Amber's eyes were no longer blue, or even ice-blue. Instead, they were just ICE. Austin felt as if a river of strength was flowing through him. Marik's pupils dilated like a cat's, giving him better night-vision. When all the changes were complete, two tigers, a bobcat, a mountain lion, a cheetah, a falcon, three wolves, and thirteen vampires were standing where once a group of "humans" had been. Sage turned to Peter and used telepathy to talk to him.
'Want to come hunting with me?' he asked, sounding exactly like someone asking you to play Nintendo with them. Peter hesitated, but finally answered.
"Okay, I'll come. I'm going to have to hunt on my own in a few days anyway." Angel just gave a short laugh.
"Sure vermin. Whatever you say," she teased, taking off for the woods. The others split up accordingly. Corinne and Alan went down a bike trail, while Tyrna and Matt jumped into the trees. Silver and Lyca ran off down a weed- strewn path, while Dahlia followed Angel. Jake trotted into some bushes and disappeared. Sage headed up the hill, and Peter followed him at a run. Patrick and John scrambled into the lower tree-cover. Amber and Luke walked calmly into the valley. Alex and Amy ran across the meadow. Gepard and Austin just took off running. Lilli spread her wings and took to the sky. Bobbi and Mike took a winding trail towards a small lake. Marik climbed up some nearby boulders and headed up a mountain trail.
"When will they be back?" Kat asked. Skye shrugged.
"I suppose they'll return when they're done eating," Leah put in. All the other girls then said as one:
"Aahh. Good point, Leah."
* * *
They were all in a serious debate about the Wild Powers when everyone started coming back. Angel and Dahlia -in human form- emerged from the trees. Lilli touched down and changed back. Marik came jogging down the rocky trail, wiping the blood off his mouth. Jake, Alex, and Amy broke through the underbrush, racing to the tree. Gepard and Austin came walking back, both voicing their opinions on Circle Daybreak. Amber and Luke walked back arm in arm, looking like an ordinary teen couple in the moonlight. Patrick and John jumped down from the trees. Silver and Lyca, both in shifted form, walked calmly up from the woods. Tyrna and Matt strode out of the woods, wiping the blood off their hands and onto their clothes. Corinne and Alan came tearing down the bike trail chasing a chipmunk, who evaded them and zipped down a hole. Sage and Peter came down from the hill, Sage looking at Peter with a Never again look. Peter's face was a very pale white. Bobbi and Mike came back from the lake. Both of them were soaking wet. Angel held up her hand for attention. "First off, I want to know why you two are dripping wet." she said, pointing to Bobbi and Mike. They just looked at each other and shrugged.
"We were fishing," Bobbi explained as Amber started giggling.
"Yeah right. What did you do, fall in?" Luke asked as Mike turned red. The others all started to laugh.
"As a matter of fact, we went for a big trout at the same time. We mixed up our claws and fell in," Mike replied.
"Next, I would really love to hear how Peter was during the hunt, Sage," Angel continued, grinning from ear to ear in devilish delight. Peter squirmed uncomfortably and Sage hesitated before answering.
"Well, for a human he did... Okay. But he still needs practice."
"What happened out there, Sage?" Austin asked, looking eager to know. Again, Sage hesitated.
"I spotted a three-point buck. Really big animal for how young it was. Anyway, I jumped it and killed it. Peter turned a little pale during the attack, but that's natural. Then when I was eating he threw up! But then again, I guess that's a normal human reaction," he said as the entire group burst out in hysterical laughter.
"You threw up?" Gepard asked, barely getting the words out.
"Gross!" Corinne and Alan yelled together. Leah tried to talk calmly, but even she was laughing.
"Sage, I don't throw up when I see an animal or vampire feeding," she reminded him. Angel and Dahlia laughed even harder.
"But Leah, we never said you were a normal human," Dahlia replied, trying to suppress her laughter. Leah reflected on this for a moment, and then decided that Dahlia was right.
"So what were you little magick-makers debating about so loudly?" Matt asked, facing the witches.
"We were talking about the Wild Powers," Skye answered.
"What about them?" Amber asked, sitting cross-legged on the grass. The others followed her example.
"We were trying to figure out who they might be," Melody said, getting comfortable next to Marik.
"Isn't one of them supposed to be the Witch Child?" Tyrna wondered, joining in the discussion.
"Witch Child? Who's that?" Peter asked, always curious.
"The Witch Child is a young girl who's a complete innocent. She's also supposed to marry the son of the First House of Shape-shifters." Amy told him. Peter looked at Dahlia.
"The son? That means that you're..." he left off there, using his hands to ask her if she was pregnant. Angel would've hit him, but Dahlia got there first. Peter slowly got up from the ground and crawled the few feet back to his spot. A red hand print was already showing on his face. Dahlia was fuming.
"You sick bastard! The son of the First House is my brother! I'm daughter of the First House! Do I look pregnant to you?" Peter slowly shook his head.
"No, but you look human, so how can I tell?" he added, rubbing the side of his face. Sage decided to back his friend up.
"Actually, being a human, he doesn't know whose parents are who, who has cousins here, and so on. Its perfectly logical for Peter to assume that Dahlia, as a female member of the First House, would have a son that would be promised to the Witch Child." Angel sent him an evil look.
"Do us all a favor, Sage. Don't go there." Sage decided to shut up.
"Okay. Now that we've all had a little fun, I'll ask my question again. What are we going to do about the Hunters?" Luke asked. The others considered his question. Melody then spoke up.
"We'll go back to them tomorrow and tell them a place where a "meeting" of Circle Midnight will take place. When they show up, we'll be ready," she suggested, smiling a little evil smile. Angel nodded her head in agreement.
"That sounds like a good idea. You'll tell them tomorrow morning, then tomorrow night, we'll have our little fight with them," she added.
"I suggest we get at least some sleep tonight. That way, we'll be fully rested for tomorrow," Leah proposed.
"Are you going to fight, Leah?" Jake asked, looking at the human girl. She just shrugged her shoulders.
"We'll see." Alex opened the door and they all descended the stairs. Angel, Lilli, and Kat went into their room to sleep. Gepard, Corrine, and Bobbi decided to share Bobbi's room. Mike went in with Alan and Austin. Amber moved her stuff into Tyrna's room, and Melody joined them as well. Matt and Luke dropped their stuff in Marik's room. Amy, Skye, and Silver took control of a room. Lyca and Leah decided to sleep in Dahlia's room. Sage, Jake, and Peter slept in their original room, and Alex moved in with Patrick and John. Climbing into their beds, they were all soon fast asleep, dreaming about the glorious day ahead.