Chapter 5
Derrick opened his eyes halfway and tried to focus on his digital watch. "Nine a.m. and they're still asleep?" Angel had the annoying tendency to send everyone to bed late only to wake them up in the wee hours of the morning, especially if they were preparing for a fight.
"What time is it?" Alan asked in disbelief as he rolled over and fell off the bed. A hard thump! accompanied his landing on the floor. "Ow."
"Who's making all the noise?" Amy demanded, sitting up with Alex's arms still around her. The top of a dirty-blonde head peeked over the top of the bed. "Oh, it's only you." Sage raised his head up and stared at the lamia boy through amber eyes. Leah awoke and scratched him between the ears, giggling as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.
"Come on Sage, we have breakfast duty," she told him. Peter opened his eyes and gently tapped Ruby with a large paw until she awoke.
'Food preparers are going that way,' he pointed out with his tail. The couple silently padded out of the room.
"Did someone mention food?" Austin whispered, eyes still closed.
"Mm-hmm," Kat answered sleepily. A minute later she had the whole cot to herself as he leapt up and ran out of the room, nearly tripping Amber on her way to the bathroom. "Men," she whispered before going back to sleep, intent on catching at least another half-hour
"I will be an only child before the week is out," Marik prophesied, giving Austin a rueful look when he got stepped on.
"Love you, big bro'!" Amber snickered and grabbed her suitcase to take it into the bathroom with her. A minute later the shower was turned on. Jason raised his head and yawned, shifting while he stretched. The black wolf padded to the door and nosed it open, disappearing into the bathroom. Daemon was jerked awake a few minutes later by Amber's voice.
"Cold nose!" she screamed. Alex and Amy fell off the cot and sprang to the door, not understanding what was going on. Daemon jerked open the door while Marik grabbed Jason's tail.
"Get your furry ass out of there!" he yelled, catching a quick glimpse of Amber's back before she wrapped a towel around herself. The wolf slinked out of the room with his tail between his legs.
"You okay, Amber?" Daemon asked when she came out fully dressed.
"Yeah, he just startled me."
'Sorry, I just couldn't resist,' Jason apologized, looking up from Blaise's lap, where he was being rubbed and patted.
"Try harder next time," Derrick quipped cynically. He wasn't always happy with the three guys his sister constantly hung out with. Even though Amber was three years older, lamia families were run by men. With their parents killed by a Night World assassin, he had been "man of the house" for five years. All the guys who hung around his sister had some defect in his eyes. Jason was too quiet, Daemon wasn't strong like a vampire or 'shifter, and Marik always had trouble following him.
'But that doesn't matter to her,' Angel's voice interrupted his thoughts. Derrick paled and looked at her.
'Was I broadcasting?' he asked with a little hesitation. If Amber had heard his thoughts… Angel smiled and squeezed his shoulders. Her "little brother" could be such a ninny sometimes.
"Only to those who were paying attention," she assured. Dahlia and Skye finished getting dressed and then followed Lyca out the door and down the hall. Alan fell on top of Tyrna and Matt, who proceeded to chase him out of the room. Amber watched as Jason and Marik followed them, wondering whose side they were on.
"May I escort you to breakfast, my lady?" Daemon asked as he bowed to her. He could be such a gentleman at times.
"Why thank you sir, I'd be delighted," she replied with a southern accent. The couple walked out arm-in-arm with Derrick right behind them. Alex pulled Kat off the cot and walked out of the room with a blonde on either side of him, a large grin plastered across his face.
"Ever the womanizer," Angel commented with a laugh. She watched as he came back and gave her the one-fingered salute. Julian wrapped his arms around Angel's waist and whispered in her ear. "No Julian, I'm sure he'll be a good boy." A forked tongue flicked out of the Shadow Man's mouth towards the made-vampire. Alex got the hint and left quickly. Blaise came over and leaned into to Julian, wrapping her leg around Angel's at the same time. She had fire in her eyes, which matched the light in her companions' eyes, and she grinned devilishly.
"Something we can do for you, my fire?" Julian wondered.
"Yes. You can entertain me for a little while." Angel's tongue darted over her teeth as she drew the witch against her. Julian kissed both women deeply, and they dragged him back onto the bed. The menage` a trois would join the others later.
* * *
Acilacia was on night patrol. Delvain and Rain were with her also, scouting out the Midnight spies who were checking out Daybreak's main force. 'The spies are being spied on,' Rain whispered silently.
"Come on, let's head back home," Acil said out loud as she started back to the base. They were almost there when the earth began to violently tremble, knocking over trees and uprooting bushes.
"Earthquake!" Delvain yelled, throwing himself to the ground. The women were beside him in a second. He saw Teia come racing out of the cabin, a look of horror on her face. As the three vampires watched in fascination, the girl began to change. Two huge leathery wings erupted from her back, carrying her into the sky. A tail shot from the base of her spine while her neck lengthened and filled out. Her body bulked up as dagger-like claws replaced her hands and feet. Three black horns were in the center of her forehead as the blood-red dragon flew off. Dahlia was standing at the cabin door, attempting to stand amid the shaking earth.
"Oh Goddess!" she cried out, slumping to the floor. The other 'shifters in the group came running from all directions, sensing something was wrong. A few were in animal form. But suddenly they all just collapsed. Rain was up and running towards them, screaming into her microphone all the while and trying to stand at the same time.
"Someone had better get their ass up here on the double!"
"What's up, Rain?" Tyrna wondered, trying to figure out why the cameras weren't working. No one could feel the earthquake way down below the surface.
"There's an earthquake going on up here, and all the shape-shifters just passed out. And Acilacia doesn't look so good either."
"I'm half 'shifter, that's why," she explained, holding her head in her hands. Acil had never felt this much pain before. Her whole body felt like it was being drained of all its energy.
"We'll be right up," Matt promised, taking off his transmitter and pushing a red button on the control panel. Immediately a siren started going off, startling a few lounging people. "This is an emergency. Everyone get to the surface and get the 'shifters inside. Something weird is going on," he yelled into the base's microphone. Then he and Tyrna started for the elevator. Moonlight and Crystal stayed behind to watch the cameras that were still working. On the surface there was utter chaos. Huge cracks appeared in the ground as the earthquake continued.
"Get them inside now!" Angel ordered, tugging on Dahlia's leather jacket to try and wake up the other princess. When that didn't work she picked up her friend and carried her inside. John, Kalli, James, Poppy, Patrick, and Julie set themselves up as guards in case anyone came nosing around. Skye had hold of Lyca's arms while Leah tried to drag Sage to the elevator. Amber and Daemon picked up Jason's limp form as Marik and Austin got Peter and Ruby. Faith scooped up Raven's tiny body, cradling the black bird gently to her chest. Derrick helped Dagan and Chandra carry Jezabell into the cabin. Tyrna and Amy picked up Lilli while Matt and Alex got Jake. Rain helped Skye with her burden and Delvain lightened Leah's load. Alan and Luke gently carried Mike, watching as his tail made a twisting track in the dirt. Melody picked up Bobbi, the little bobcat's head nestled on her shoulder.
"Oh Eileithyia, Mistress of Beasts, please let them wake up," she prayed. Kat and Blaise watched while Nalaria and Norei helped Acil stand. A sudden violent thrust knocked everyone off their feet. The six guards came running back to the cabin, helping people stand as they went.
"Move it!" Kat yelled at them as Julian ran outside and picked up her and Blaise. The three women were right behind him, followed by the guards. Kalli slammed the door behind them and started the elevator down. Halfway there the shaking stopped, but the 'shifters didn't wake up.
"What the hell happened up there?" Blaise demanded as Julian set her and Kat down, referring to their unconscious friends. No one answered because no one knew. Even Leah was strangely silent as she kept her hand on Sage's shoulder, a look of worry etched into her face.
"Hey, where's Teia?" Kalli asked, looking around for the quiet girl. She had not been with the others when they had dragged everyone inside.
"She flew off somewhere," Delvain told her.
"Flew?" James asked a bit skeptically.
"She's a dragon," Rain clarified, coming to her sweetheart's defense. A heavy silence descended upon the room, seeming to turn all of them to stone. Amber found her Chronicler book and thumbed back a few pages. Yes, she had written down that Teia Drake was a dragon, and yet that crucial bit of information had somehow sneaked past all of them.
"Teia can't be a dragon. They were all buried by the witches thousands of years ago," Poppy argued, proud that she had remembered her lessons from way back in Daybreak. Acilacia gave a wry grin, leaning heavily on the wall for support.
"They missed one."
"The dragon princess?" Alex asked hopefully. It was now common knowledge that over ten thousand years ago the witches had used a powerful spell to put the dragons to sleep, and had then buried them deep under the earth. The three year-old dragon princess had been spared and taught by Hecate and her daughter Hellewise, ancestors to the Harmans. The little dragon's line ended with Galen Drache and his sister, Dahlia. Acilacia shook her head slowly, feeling her strength gradually returning.
"No, another dragon. My father, and probably Teia's as well."
"Your father was a dragon?" Skye's voice caught in her throat. She had known that the vampire had been hiding something, but she hadn't expected it was something this big.
"There's more." Acilacia's flat voice interrupted the girl's thoughts.
"Tell us everything," Angel coaxed, intrigued by this turn of events. Acil sighed deeply and then began her tale…
* * *
"When the shape-shifters ruled the world, the dragons ruled them. They could take on any form they wanted, and their horns held powers the likes of which almost no one could stop. But chaos reigned and the witches took action against the powerful beasts. The dragon princess, Tiamat, went to a friend of hers to warn him that their race might be destroyed. Though only a couple of years older, Rastaban escaped before it was too late, though he never forgave himself for leaving Tiamat behind. He ended up in Egypt where he raised himself and developed his powers. One day he met a young woman walking along the bank of the Nile and was captivated by her sensuous body and sharp wit. They slept with each other, and it wasn't long before the woman was pregnant. Only then did she reveal the truth to Rastaban, and he to her. He was a dragon; the most ancient and powerful of the shape-shifters, and probably the last of his kind. She was Isis; Queen of the Egyptian gods and mother to the people of her land. He promised to raise the child and teach it the ways of his kind. On a cold winter morning, Isis gave birth to Acilacia Winterfell, so named because snow began to fall right after she was born. After the child was weaned her father began to teach her how to use her powers. Acilacia's mother promised her that whenever she was in trouble, she need only call out and Isis would be there. Years later, the Luna's training complete, she wanted to live on her own. Her race was called Luna or Lune for the simple reason that they were all half 'shifter or vampire and half god/goddess, and therefore ruled in part by the moon. But trouble came to find her in the shape of Hunter Redfern, sole leader of the vampires at that time. He discovered they were soulmates when the two had shaken hands, feeling the glorious energy and mind-meld that accompanied the first shock. Hunter said he never wanted to leave her, and she had believed him because he wasn't the monster he would become later. Instead he was calmer and not so power-hungry; a regular gentleman. Acilacia gave in to his heartfelt pleading and became a vampire and Hunter's wife, Acilacia Winterfell Redfern. They lived happily for a few centuries, but things began to sour after that. Hunter wanted heirs, but didn't think his made-vampire wife would be able to have children. So he divorced her and did a blood-tie ceremony with Maeve Harman in the hopes that she would give him children. So Acil, just to spite Hunter, had a child with a Lune. My daughter's name is Sasha."
* * *
Acil finished her story and looked around at the group. A few of the vamps had carried away the 'shifters to the bedrooms while she talked, but had quickly hurried back to hear the rest. Angel was sorting through all of the information while Amber's pen flew over the paper, recording the entire story. "Where's your daughter now?" she wondered out loud, pausing in her writing. She hoped that the girl was still alive somewhere, for Acilacia's sake as a mother and fellow vampire.
"She's in Russia with her husband, John, and her father," Acilacia replied with a shrug. "She loves Moscow in the winter. It's where she was born and lived as an older child."
"What a story," Amy commented, her blue eyes wide with wonder.
"Yes, it certainly was. But now we have to worry about our sleeping friends," Angel reminded them. Nalaria, as the oldest witch, organized her companions into teams and sent them into different rooms to tend to the others. Angel, Alex, and Acilacia broke off from the vamps to quietly discuss the situation. Poppy and James went off to get some much-needed sleep, but they all doubted that's what the two soulmates would be doing. Amber headed for the computer room, finding Crystal and Moonlight half- asleep at the console.
"Go to sleep, girls," she told them gently as they rubbed their eyes and scooted off to bed. She sat down and rested her head on her arms, worried about her friends. She had to admit that even though most of the others were her good friends, Jason was the one she was most worried about. Someone came into the room and sat beside her, but Amber didn't even look up.
"Are you okay?" Rain asked softly, putting an arm around her cousin.
"What's going on, Rain? What could possibly have done that to them?" The blonde's voice was soft and mournful.
"I don't think I want to know."
"Well I do. Because if it's powerful enough to do that to 'shifters, then what can it do to the rest of us?" The two girls sat in silence for a moment, considering those last words. Marik stood in the doorway and cleared his throat to get their attention. Two ice-blue eyes and two midnight-blue ones stared back at him, looking through him it seemed. He shivered a little but quickly regained his composure. The Johnsons could be so strange at times, and this was one of those times.
"Hey Rain, can I talk to Amber… Alone?" He felt silly asking the permission of a younger lamia, even one a year younger, but he didn't want to start a family fight.
"Sure Marik." With a wink and a pat for the blonde's benefit, the other Johnson left the room, a broad smile on her face. Marik sat beside Amber, waiting for her to smile at him like she always did. Just a little grin would let him know she wasn't beating herself up over what had just happened on the surface.
"He'll be fine," he assured, referring of course to Jason. While strangely quiet, the wolf was extremely loyal and a tough fighter. He'd pull through anything just to prove he could.
"Marik, do you believe in the hereafter?" Amber's question came out of nowhere, and her tone scared the young man. She sounded so serious, and a little fearful too. That was not a good thing.
"We don't have afterlives," he reminded her gently. Everyone knew that being a vampire trapped your soul and didn't allow it to move on when your body died. While the Catholic Church had really been guessing, the Night World knew the truth. No one had ever been found to have previously been a vampire, lamia or made. Which a put a damper on their being "immortal", as everyone else kept going through reincarnation, although most vamps did not think about death until it was absolutely necessary. Usually that was when they had been staked or were being burned alive. Amber locked eyes with Marik, her arms going around his neck to hold him close to her. She was shaking a little.
"I'm scared," she revealed as he put his arms around her waist and held her tight. It was all he could do in this situation. Daemon passed by the room, and Marik motioned him in with a nod of his head.
'What's wrong with Amber?' the witch asked, making sure to keep his link with Amber closed, lest she hear their conversation.
'She doesn't want to die.'
'Oh for Athena's sake! She isn't going to die, just like we're not going to die.' Marik was going to ask him how he knew that, but decided on a better question. One that had been bugging him for awhile.
'Can I ask you a question? Do you witches have any male gods, or do women truly rule?' Daemon blushed at the question as he put his hand on Amber's back, adding his own comfort and support. Being the only male witch among a lot of girls had its ups and downs.
'Women are very important, but there are some men around.'
'For entertainment purposes only,' Blaise's voice cut in. The two boys turned startled eyes to the door where the "slayer of hearts" stood smiling devilishly, a look that was usually always on her face.
"Not these boys," Amber shot back, her voice muffled by Marik's shirt. A small smile was on her face.
"Why not? You don't use them." Now the men looked back and forth between the girls, silently wondering how much of their conversation Amber had heard. No one could ever tell what she heard and how much she wanted to understand. They were also wondering why -when all this talk about them was going on- they never felt included in the conversation. Blaise only smiled and left the trio alone. The Ice Princess looked up and grinned contentedly, seemingly back to her old self.
"I'm going to visit Jason," she told them. They watched as she walked down the hall, back straight and head held up.
"Think she'll be okay?" Marik wondered, sitting down again in front of the computer. There was something in the back of his mind, a vital piece of info that just wouldn't come out. Something about an earlier prophecy…
"I think so," Daemon replied after a moment of reflective thought. He sat down too and brought up the CM database. Austin's member-check revealed a few hundred people now at the base, plus the location of thousands more around the world. Along with these numbers, there were also however many CD had brought that they had to contend with. Daemon started typing in snatches of the prophecy, hoping for inspiration. Suddenly an idea popped into his mind, and a plausible one at that. "Marik, start cross-referencing the new prophecy with earlier ones. I'll cross it with Night World history." The two teens got right to work.
* * *
Amber silently opened the door and stepped inside. Dahlia and Lyca were on cots, Skye meditating peacefully in between them. Sage was also on a cot, Leah sitting close beside him. Ruby and Peter were sleeping on a bed. Jason was on a mattress, pale and unmoving. Amber kneeled down beside him and stroked his back like a mother calming a sick child. A lock of hair fell in front of his eyes, and she gently brushed the coal-black silk away from his face. "How're the others?" she asked the two quiet girls.
"There's been no change," Skye replied, keeping her eyes closed.
"Luke and Melody are with Bobbi and Mike, Faith is watching Raven, Jezabell has Dagan and Chandra looking after her, Kat is near Lilli, and Matt and Tyrna keep watch over Jake with Alan's help. Still no sign of Teia," Leah added. Amber looked at her watch, realizing it was early morning already. It felt like noon of the next day.
"Maybe we should start guard-shifts," she suggested, lying down next to Jason. A few minutes later she was asleep, her arm securely around his waist. Skye opened her eyes and smiled slightly.
"She needed to sleep. But maybe a few of us could go on guard duty." Austin poked his head into the room, having just come from across the hall. He braced himself in the doorway, sleep making his eyelids like two lead covers over his shining eyes.
"Daemon and my brother are at the computer doing stuff. They'll keep an eye on things." Derrick poked him from behind and staggered into the room, almost falling a few times.
"The bed is calling me," he yawned, falling onto the bed and sleeping where he fell. Leah handed Skye a blanket and then snuggled up against Sage, her arm protectively around his waist.
"Goodnight everyone," she whispered. Skye only nodded and pulled up the blanket, her body crying out for sleep. Austin walked back out into the hall and came back a few minutes later, Katarina asleep in his arms. He gently placed her in their cot and then drew up the sheet around them, chuckling as her feather-light hair tickled his face. Alan dragged himself into the room and over to the bed he shared with Derrick. He managed to pull the covers up halfway before sleep overtook him. Ever so slowly the rest of the group began trickling in as fatigue took its toll on them. Across the hall it was the same story as everyone bedded down for the night. Marik and Daemon left the computer to do its work, realizing it was seven in the morning and they needed sleep.
"Everyone else is asleep," Daemon whispered as they silently opened the door to their room and slipped inside.
"Lucky them," the lamia mumbled as he curled up next to Jason and Amber while Daemon lay down on their other side. After a while there was no movement anywhere in the base except the whirring of the computer as it worked on the cross-referencing. Suddenly it beeped, and a red message began flashing at the bottom of the main screen:
Match Found. Match Found. Match Found…
* * *
Sage groaned and opened his eyes, his head feeling like an overused bowling ball. "Where am I?" All he could remember was a feeling of icy fear and then an energy drain that had knocked him unconscious. He then realized that Leah was asleep beside him in the cot. "Leah. Psst Leah, wake up." Blue-gray eyes snapped open to stare at him. Leah reached up and tenderly stroked his cheek with one hand.
"You're okay," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away and hugged her to him, both of them crying. Amber opened her eyes and sat up, always a light sleeper.
"Sage!" she yelled, waking up a few of the others. Jason's eyes opened slowly, focusing on Marik and Daemon, who were staring back at him in awe and happiness.
"Jason?" Daemon hesitantly asked, hoping this wasn't a dream. Amber spun around and hugged the green-eyed teen, her face shining with sheer joy. The other two boys joined in the hugging.
"Ooh, major hangover," Dahlia complained as she sat up with her head in her hands. Lyca and Skye were by her side, the wolf-girl a little paler than normal, but otherwise okay.
"It's good to hear your voices again, girls," Skye told them as Angel and Julian left Blaise alone in bed to talk with the three girls.
"What's with all the noise?" Matt demanded loudly.
"The 'shifters are awake," Austin told him, burying his head underneath the pillow. Tyrna and Kat were up and out the door in the next minute, eager to check on the others.
"That's twice," Alan commented as he picked himself up off the floor. The girls' hurried flight had startled him awake, causing him to fall out of bed again. Derrick started laughing until a pillow came flying at his head. He quickly counter-attacked with his own pillow. Unfortunately, it hit Marik instead, and the younger boy laughed.
"All right, now you're gonna get it," Marik warned. Soon pillows were flying every which way. In the midst of all this, Peter and Ruby awoke.
"Mosh pit!" the lion yelled, diving on his laughing girlfriend. Blaise opened her eyes and searched for Julian amid the white missiles of fluff, not wishing to waste a perfectly good time to use her wiles on him. When Tyrna and Kat came back with a few of the others, they were all assaulted and forced to defend themselves.
"Pillow fight!" Bobbi cried happily, bouncing into the middle of the fray with Mike close at her heels.
"Defend yourself, knave," Tyrna shrieked at Matt, diving at him with a pillow and clobbering him.
"Girls rule!" Kat shrieked, hitting Austin and Alan at the same time. The shouting brought everyone else into the room, and pretty soon the whole group was involved. The fight continued for a little while longer until someone seriously yelled out:
"Could you all stop for a minute, please?" Everyone dropped both pillows and people to stare wide-eyed at Teia, who stood framed in the doorway, staring at all of them.
"Teia, you're back! Where were you?" Kalli wondered, asking the question everyone else was thinking.
"Learning a few things. By the way Acilacia, dad says hi." The Luna smiled at her little half-sister.
"I thought that was the case. So tell us little dragon, what did you learn?" Everyone else wanted to hear her answer.
"Well for one thing, people from the Night World are coming back to life." Silence enveloped the room for a full minute.
"How do you know that?" Blaise wanted to know. It wasn't that she didn't trust Teia, but not liking dragons was drilled into every witch since birth. A girl behind Teia came forward into the light, navy-blue eyes fixed on the group. Her shoulder-length hair was a shiny copper color, but had darker stripes running vertically through it. She wore a white dress that had grass and dirt stains all over it.
"I told her," she replied softly, answering Blaise's question. The room remained frozen, most of the people too shocked at what they were seeing. Angel felt hot tears welling up in her eyes.
"Silver. Oh Goddess, you're alive." The once-dead tiger 'shifter just smiled brightly at her leader.
"I'm ba-ack," she sing-songed while a few more people began to cry at the happy reunion.
Derrick opened his eyes halfway and tried to focus on his digital watch. "Nine a.m. and they're still asleep?" Angel had the annoying tendency to send everyone to bed late only to wake them up in the wee hours of the morning, especially if they were preparing for a fight.
"What time is it?" Alan asked in disbelief as he rolled over and fell off the bed. A hard thump! accompanied his landing on the floor. "Ow."
"Who's making all the noise?" Amy demanded, sitting up with Alex's arms still around her. The top of a dirty-blonde head peeked over the top of the bed. "Oh, it's only you." Sage raised his head up and stared at the lamia boy through amber eyes. Leah awoke and scratched him between the ears, giggling as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.
"Come on Sage, we have breakfast duty," she told him. Peter opened his eyes and gently tapped Ruby with a large paw until she awoke.
'Food preparers are going that way,' he pointed out with his tail. The couple silently padded out of the room.
"Did someone mention food?" Austin whispered, eyes still closed.
"Mm-hmm," Kat answered sleepily. A minute later she had the whole cot to herself as he leapt up and ran out of the room, nearly tripping Amber on her way to the bathroom. "Men," she whispered before going back to sleep, intent on catching at least another half-hour
"I will be an only child before the week is out," Marik prophesied, giving Austin a rueful look when he got stepped on.
"Love you, big bro'!" Amber snickered and grabbed her suitcase to take it into the bathroom with her. A minute later the shower was turned on. Jason raised his head and yawned, shifting while he stretched. The black wolf padded to the door and nosed it open, disappearing into the bathroom. Daemon was jerked awake a few minutes later by Amber's voice.
"Cold nose!" she screamed. Alex and Amy fell off the cot and sprang to the door, not understanding what was going on. Daemon jerked open the door while Marik grabbed Jason's tail.
"Get your furry ass out of there!" he yelled, catching a quick glimpse of Amber's back before she wrapped a towel around herself. The wolf slinked out of the room with his tail between his legs.
"You okay, Amber?" Daemon asked when she came out fully dressed.
"Yeah, he just startled me."
'Sorry, I just couldn't resist,' Jason apologized, looking up from Blaise's lap, where he was being rubbed and patted.
"Try harder next time," Derrick quipped cynically. He wasn't always happy with the three guys his sister constantly hung out with. Even though Amber was three years older, lamia families were run by men. With their parents killed by a Night World assassin, he had been "man of the house" for five years. All the guys who hung around his sister had some defect in his eyes. Jason was too quiet, Daemon wasn't strong like a vampire or 'shifter, and Marik always had trouble following him.
'But that doesn't matter to her,' Angel's voice interrupted his thoughts. Derrick paled and looked at her.
'Was I broadcasting?' he asked with a little hesitation. If Amber had heard his thoughts… Angel smiled and squeezed his shoulders. Her "little brother" could be such a ninny sometimes.
"Only to those who were paying attention," she assured. Dahlia and Skye finished getting dressed and then followed Lyca out the door and down the hall. Alan fell on top of Tyrna and Matt, who proceeded to chase him out of the room. Amber watched as Jason and Marik followed them, wondering whose side they were on.
"May I escort you to breakfast, my lady?" Daemon asked as he bowed to her. He could be such a gentleman at times.
"Why thank you sir, I'd be delighted," she replied with a southern accent. The couple walked out arm-in-arm with Derrick right behind them. Alex pulled Kat off the cot and walked out of the room with a blonde on either side of him, a large grin plastered across his face.
"Ever the womanizer," Angel commented with a laugh. She watched as he came back and gave her the one-fingered salute. Julian wrapped his arms around Angel's waist and whispered in her ear. "No Julian, I'm sure he'll be a good boy." A forked tongue flicked out of the Shadow Man's mouth towards the made-vampire. Alex got the hint and left quickly. Blaise came over and leaned into to Julian, wrapping her leg around Angel's at the same time. She had fire in her eyes, which matched the light in her companions' eyes, and she grinned devilishly.
"Something we can do for you, my fire?" Julian wondered.
"Yes. You can entertain me for a little while." Angel's tongue darted over her teeth as she drew the witch against her. Julian kissed both women deeply, and they dragged him back onto the bed. The menage` a trois would join the others later.
* * *
Acilacia was on night patrol. Delvain and Rain were with her also, scouting out the Midnight spies who were checking out Daybreak's main force. 'The spies are being spied on,' Rain whispered silently.
"Come on, let's head back home," Acil said out loud as she started back to the base. They were almost there when the earth began to violently tremble, knocking over trees and uprooting bushes.
"Earthquake!" Delvain yelled, throwing himself to the ground. The women were beside him in a second. He saw Teia come racing out of the cabin, a look of horror on her face. As the three vampires watched in fascination, the girl began to change. Two huge leathery wings erupted from her back, carrying her into the sky. A tail shot from the base of her spine while her neck lengthened and filled out. Her body bulked up as dagger-like claws replaced her hands and feet. Three black horns were in the center of her forehead as the blood-red dragon flew off. Dahlia was standing at the cabin door, attempting to stand amid the shaking earth.
"Oh Goddess!" she cried out, slumping to the floor. The other 'shifters in the group came running from all directions, sensing something was wrong. A few were in animal form. But suddenly they all just collapsed. Rain was up and running towards them, screaming into her microphone all the while and trying to stand at the same time.
"Someone had better get their ass up here on the double!"
"What's up, Rain?" Tyrna wondered, trying to figure out why the cameras weren't working. No one could feel the earthquake way down below the surface.
"There's an earthquake going on up here, and all the shape-shifters just passed out. And Acilacia doesn't look so good either."
"I'm half 'shifter, that's why," she explained, holding her head in her hands. Acil had never felt this much pain before. Her whole body felt like it was being drained of all its energy.
"We'll be right up," Matt promised, taking off his transmitter and pushing a red button on the control panel. Immediately a siren started going off, startling a few lounging people. "This is an emergency. Everyone get to the surface and get the 'shifters inside. Something weird is going on," he yelled into the base's microphone. Then he and Tyrna started for the elevator. Moonlight and Crystal stayed behind to watch the cameras that were still working. On the surface there was utter chaos. Huge cracks appeared in the ground as the earthquake continued.
"Get them inside now!" Angel ordered, tugging on Dahlia's leather jacket to try and wake up the other princess. When that didn't work she picked up her friend and carried her inside. John, Kalli, James, Poppy, Patrick, and Julie set themselves up as guards in case anyone came nosing around. Skye had hold of Lyca's arms while Leah tried to drag Sage to the elevator. Amber and Daemon picked up Jason's limp form as Marik and Austin got Peter and Ruby. Faith scooped up Raven's tiny body, cradling the black bird gently to her chest. Derrick helped Dagan and Chandra carry Jezabell into the cabin. Tyrna and Amy picked up Lilli while Matt and Alex got Jake. Rain helped Skye with her burden and Delvain lightened Leah's load. Alan and Luke gently carried Mike, watching as his tail made a twisting track in the dirt. Melody picked up Bobbi, the little bobcat's head nestled on her shoulder.
"Oh Eileithyia, Mistress of Beasts, please let them wake up," she prayed. Kat and Blaise watched while Nalaria and Norei helped Acil stand. A sudden violent thrust knocked everyone off their feet. The six guards came running back to the cabin, helping people stand as they went.
"Move it!" Kat yelled at them as Julian ran outside and picked up her and Blaise. The three women were right behind him, followed by the guards. Kalli slammed the door behind them and started the elevator down. Halfway there the shaking stopped, but the 'shifters didn't wake up.
"What the hell happened up there?" Blaise demanded as Julian set her and Kat down, referring to their unconscious friends. No one answered because no one knew. Even Leah was strangely silent as she kept her hand on Sage's shoulder, a look of worry etched into her face.
"Hey, where's Teia?" Kalli asked, looking around for the quiet girl. She had not been with the others when they had dragged everyone inside.
"She flew off somewhere," Delvain told her.
"Flew?" James asked a bit skeptically.
"She's a dragon," Rain clarified, coming to her sweetheart's defense. A heavy silence descended upon the room, seeming to turn all of them to stone. Amber found her Chronicler book and thumbed back a few pages. Yes, she had written down that Teia Drake was a dragon, and yet that crucial bit of information had somehow sneaked past all of them.
"Teia can't be a dragon. They were all buried by the witches thousands of years ago," Poppy argued, proud that she had remembered her lessons from way back in Daybreak. Acilacia gave a wry grin, leaning heavily on the wall for support.
"They missed one."
"The dragon princess?" Alex asked hopefully. It was now common knowledge that over ten thousand years ago the witches had used a powerful spell to put the dragons to sleep, and had then buried them deep under the earth. The three year-old dragon princess had been spared and taught by Hecate and her daughter Hellewise, ancestors to the Harmans. The little dragon's line ended with Galen Drache and his sister, Dahlia. Acilacia shook her head slowly, feeling her strength gradually returning.
"No, another dragon. My father, and probably Teia's as well."
"Your father was a dragon?" Skye's voice caught in her throat. She had known that the vampire had been hiding something, but she hadn't expected it was something this big.
"There's more." Acilacia's flat voice interrupted the girl's thoughts.
"Tell us everything," Angel coaxed, intrigued by this turn of events. Acil sighed deeply and then began her tale…
* * *
"When the shape-shifters ruled the world, the dragons ruled them. They could take on any form they wanted, and their horns held powers the likes of which almost no one could stop. But chaos reigned and the witches took action against the powerful beasts. The dragon princess, Tiamat, went to a friend of hers to warn him that their race might be destroyed. Though only a couple of years older, Rastaban escaped before it was too late, though he never forgave himself for leaving Tiamat behind. He ended up in Egypt where he raised himself and developed his powers. One day he met a young woman walking along the bank of the Nile and was captivated by her sensuous body and sharp wit. They slept with each other, and it wasn't long before the woman was pregnant. Only then did she reveal the truth to Rastaban, and he to her. He was a dragon; the most ancient and powerful of the shape-shifters, and probably the last of his kind. She was Isis; Queen of the Egyptian gods and mother to the people of her land. He promised to raise the child and teach it the ways of his kind. On a cold winter morning, Isis gave birth to Acilacia Winterfell, so named because snow began to fall right after she was born. After the child was weaned her father began to teach her how to use her powers. Acilacia's mother promised her that whenever she was in trouble, she need only call out and Isis would be there. Years later, the Luna's training complete, she wanted to live on her own. Her race was called Luna or Lune for the simple reason that they were all half 'shifter or vampire and half god/goddess, and therefore ruled in part by the moon. But trouble came to find her in the shape of Hunter Redfern, sole leader of the vampires at that time. He discovered they were soulmates when the two had shaken hands, feeling the glorious energy and mind-meld that accompanied the first shock. Hunter said he never wanted to leave her, and she had believed him because he wasn't the monster he would become later. Instead he was calmer and not so power-hungry; a regular gentleman. Acilacia gave in to his heartfelt pleading and became a vampire and Hunter's wife, Acilacia Winterfell Redfern. They lived happily for a few centuries, but things began to sour after that. Hunter wanted heirs, but didn't think his made-vampire wife would be able to have children. So he divorced her and did a blood-tie ceremony with Maeve Harman in the hopes that she would give him children. So Acil, just to spite Hunter, had a child with a Lune. My daughter's name is Sasha."
* * *
Acil finished her story and looked around at the group. A few of the vamps had carried away the 'shifters to the bedrooms while she talked, but had quickly hurried back to hear the rest. Angel was sorting through all of the information while Amber's pen flew over the paper, recording the entire story. "Where's your daughter now?" she wondered out loud, pausing in her writing. She hoped that the girl was still alive somewhere, for Acilacia's sake as a mother and fellow vampire.
"She's in Russia with her husband, John, and her father," Acilacia replied with a shrug. "She loves Moscow in the winter. It's where she was born and lived as an older child."
"What a story," Amy commented, her blue eyes wide with wonder.
"Yes, it certainly was. But now we have to worry about our sleeping friends," Angel reminded them. Nalaria, as the oldest witch, organized her companions into teams and sent them into different rooms to tend to the others. Angel, Alex, and Acilacia broke off from the vamps to quietly discuss the situation. Poppy and James went off to get some much-needed sleep, but they all doubted that's what the two soulmates would be doing. Amber headed for the computer room, finding Crystal and Moonlight half- asleep at the console.
"Go to sleep, girls," she told them gently as they rubbed their eyes and scooted off to bed. She sat down and rested her head on her arms, worried about her friends. She had to admit that even though most of the others were her good friends, Jason was the one she was most worried about. Someone came into the room and sat beside her, but Amber didn't even look up.
"Are you okay?" Rain asked softly, putting an arm around her cousin.
"What's going on, Rain? What could possibly have done that to them?" The blonde's voice was soft and mournful.
"I don't think I want to know."
"Well I do. Because if it's powerful enough to do that to 'shifters, then what can it do to the rest of us?" The two girls sat in silence for a moment, considering those last words. Marik stood in the doorway and cleared his throat to get their attention. Two ice-blue eyes and two midnight-blue ones stared back at him, looking through him it seemed. He shivered a little but quickly regained his composure. The Johnsons could be so strange at times, and this was one of those times.
"Hey Rain, can I talk to Amber… Alone?" He felt silly asking the permission of a younger lamia, even one a year younger, but he didn't want to start a family fight.
"Sure Marik." With a wink and a pat for the blonde's benefit, the other Johnson left the room, a broad smile on her face. Marik sat beside Amber, waiting for her to smile at him like she always did. Just a little grin would let him know she wasn't beating herself up over what had just happened on the surface.
"He'll be fine," he assured, referring of course to Jason. While strangely quiet, the wolf was extremely loyal and a tough fighter. He'd pull through anything just to prove he could.
"Marik, do you believe in the hereafter?" Amber's question came out of nowhere, and her tone scared the young man. She sounded so serious, and a little fearful too. That was not a good thing.
"We don't have afterlives," he reminded her gently. Everyone knew that being a vampire trapped your soul and didn't allow it to move on when your body died. While the Catholic Church had really been guessing, the Night World knew the truth. No one had ever been found to have previously been a vampire, lamia or made. Which a put a damper on their being "immortal", as everyone else kept going through reincarnation, although most vamps did not think about death until it was absolutely necessary. Usually that was when they had been staked or were being burned alive. Amber locked eyes with Marik, her arms going around his neck to hold him close to her. She was shaking a little.
"I'm scared," she revealed as he put his arms around her waist and held her tight. It was all he could do in this situation. Daemon passed by the room, and Marik motioned him in with a nod of his head.
'What's wrong with Amber?' the witch asked, making sure to keep his link with Amber closed, lest she hear their conversation.
'She doesn't want to die.'
'Oh for Athena's sake! She isn't going to die, just like we're not going to die.' Marik was going to ask him how he knew that, but decided on a better question. One that had been bugging him for awhile.
'Can I ask you a question? Do you witches have any male gods, or do women truly rule?' Daemon blushed at the question as he put his hand on Amber's back, adding his own comfort and support. Being the only male witch among a lot of girls had its ups and downs.
'Women are very important, but there are some men around.'
'For entertainment purposes only,' Blaise's voice cut in. The two boys turned startled eyes to the door where the "slayer of hearts" stood smiling devilishly, a look that was usually always on her face.
"Not these boys," Amber shot back, her voice muffled by Marik's shirt. A small smile was on her face.
"Why not? You don't use them." Now the men looked back and forth between the girls, silently wondering how much of their conversation Amber had heard. No one could ever tell what she heard and how much she wanted to understand. They were also wondering why -when all this talk about them was going on- they never felt included in the conversation. Blaise only smiled and left the trio alone. The Ice Princess looked up and grinned contentedly, seemingly back to her old self.
"I'm going to visit Jason," she told them. They watched as she walked down the hall, back straight and head held up.
"Think she'll be okay?" Marik wondered, sitting down again in front of the computer. There was something in the back of his mind, a vital piece of info that just wouldn't come out. Something about an earlier prophecy…
"I think so," Daemon replied after a moment of reflective thought. He sat down too and brought up the CM database. Austin's member-check revealed a few hundred people now at the base, plus the location of thousands more around the world. Along with these numbers, there were also however many CD had brought that they had to contend with. Daemon started typing in snatches of the prophecy, hoping for inspiration. Suddenly an idea popped into his mind, and a plausible one at that. "Marik, start cross-referencing the new prophecy with earlier ones. I'll cross it with Night World history." The two teens got right to work.
* * *
Amber silently opened the door and stepped inside. Dahlia and Lyca were on cots, Skye meditating peacefully in between them. Sage was also on a cot, Leah sitting close beside him. Ruby and Peter were sleeping on a bed. Jason was on a mattress, pale and unmoving. Amber kneeled down beside him and stroked his back like a mother calming a sick child. A lock of hair fell in front of his eyes, and she gently brushed the coal-black silk away from his face. "How're the others?" she asked the two quiet girls.
"There's been no change," Skye replied, keeping her eyes closed.
"Luke and Melody are with Bobbi and Mike, Faith is watching Raven, Jezabell has Dagan and Chandra looking after her, Kat is near Lilli, and Matt and Tyrna keep watch over Jake with Alan's help. Still no sign of Teia," Leah added. Amber looked at her watch, realizing it was early morning already. It felt like noon of the next day.
"Maybe we should start guard-shifts," she suggested, lying down next to Jason. A few minutes later she was asleep, her arm securely around his waist. Skye opened her eyes and smiled slightly.
"She needed to sleep. But maybe a few of us could go on guard duty." Austin poked his head into the room, having just come from across the hall. He braced himself in the doorway, sleep making his eyelids like two lead covers over his shining eyes.
"Daemon and my brother are at the computer doing stuff. They'll keep an eye on things." Derrick poked him from behind and staggered into the room, almost falling a few times.
"The bed is calling me," he yawned, falling onto the bed and sleeping where he fell. Leah handed Skye a blanket and then snuggled up against Sage, her arm protectively around his waist.
"Goodnight everyone," she whispered. Skye only nodded and pulled up the blanket, her body crying out for sleep. Austin walked back out into the hall and came back a few minutes later, Katarina asleep in his arms. He gently placed her in their cot and then drew up the sheet around them, chuckling as her feather-light hair tickled his face. Alan dragged himself into the room and over to the bed he shared with Derrick. He managed to pull the covers up halfway before sleep overtook him. Ever so slowly the rest of the group began trickling in as fatigue took its toll on them. Across the hall it was the same story as everyone bedded down for the night. Marik and Daemon left the computer to do its work, realizing it was seven in the morning and they needed sleep.
"Everyone else is asleep," Daemon whispered as they silently opened the door to their room and slipped inside.
"Lucky them," the lamia mumbled as he curled up next to Jason and Amber while Daemon lay down on their other side. After a while there was no movement anywhere in the base except the whirring of the computer as it worked on the cross-referencing. Suddenly it beeped, and a red message began flashing at the bottom of the main screen:
Match Found. Match Found. Match Found…
* * *
Sage groaned and opened his eyes, his head feeling like an overused bowling ball. "Where am I?" All he could remember was a feeling of icy fear and then an energy drain that had knocked him unconscious. He then realized that Leah was asleep beside him in the cot. "Leah. Psst Leah, wake up." Blue-gray eyes snapped open to stare at him. Leah reached up and tenderly stroked his cheek with one hand.
"You're okay," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away and hugged her to him, both of them crying. Amber opened her eyes and sat up, always a light sleeper.
"Sage!" she yelled, waking up a few of the others. Jason's eyes opened slowly, focusing on Marik and Daemon, who were staring back at him in awe and happiness.
"Jason?" Daemon hesitantly asked, hoping this wasn't a dream. Amber spun around and hugged the green-eyed teen, her face shining with sheer joy. The other two boys joined in the hugging.
"Ooh, major hangover," Dahlia complained as she sat up with her head in her hands. Lyca and Skye were by her side, the wolf-girl a little paler than normal, but otherwise okay.
"It's good to hear your voices again, girls," Skye told them as Angel and Julian left Blaise alone in bed to talk with the three girls.
"What's with all the noise?" Matt demanded loudly.
"The 'shifters are awake," Austin told him, burying his head underneath the pillow. Tyrna and Kat were up and out the door in the next minute, eager to check on the others.
"That's twice," Alan commented as he picked himself up off the floor. The girls' hurried flight had startled him awake, causing him to fall out of bed again. Derrick started laughing until a pillow came flying at his head. He quickly counter-attacked with his own pillow. Unfortunately, it hit Marik instead, and the younger boy laughed.
"All right, now you're gonna get it," Marik warned. Soon pillows were flying every which way. In the midst of all this, Peter and Ruby awoke.
"Mosh pit!" the lion yelled, diving on his laughing girlfriend. Blaise opened her eyes and searched for Julian amid the white missiles of fluff, not wishing to waste a perfectly good time to use her wiles on him. When Tyrna and Kat came back with a few of the others, they were all assaulted and forced to defend themselves.
"Pillow fight!" Bobbi cried happily, bouncing into the middle of the fray with Mike close at her heels.
"Defend yourself, knave," Tyrna shrieked at Matt, diving at him with a pillow and clobbering him.
"Girls rule!" Kat shrieked, hitting Austin and Alan at the same time. The shouting brought everyone else into the room, and pretty soon the whole group was involved. The fight continued for a little while longer until someone seriously yelled out:
"Could you all stop for a minute, please?" Everyone dropped both pillows and people to stare wide-eyed at Teia, who stood framed in the doorway, staring at all of them.
"Teia, you're back! Where were you?" Kalli wondered, asking the question everyone else was thinking.
"Learning a few things. By the way Acilacia, dad says hi." The Luna smiled at her little half-sister.
"I thought that was the case. So tell us little dragon, what did you learn?" Everyone else wanted to hear her answer.
"Well for one thing, people from the Night World are coming back to life." Silence enveloped the room for a full minute.
"How do you know that?" Blaise wanted to know. It wasn't that she didn't trust Teia, but not liking dragons was drilled into every witch since birth. A girl behind Teia came forward into the light, navy-blue eyes fixed on the group. Her shoulder-length hair was a shiny copper color, but had darker stripes running vertically through it. She wore a white dress that had grass and dirt stains all over it.
"I told her," she replied softly, answering Blaise's question. The room remained frozen, most of the people too shocked at what they were seeing. Angel felt hot tears welling up in her eyes.
"Silver. Oh Goddess, you're alive." The once-dead tiger 'shifter just smiled brightly at her leader.
"I'm ba-ack," she sing-songed while a few more people began to cry at the happy reunion.