Stray not my love

I awoke to the sound of a crackling fire, alone with the sight of two blood red eyes watching me. I sat up and gasped, waking fully and scooted back, running into an invisible wall behind me.

Ezrin snickered when I realized someone cast a force field around me. Looking down at the ground I could make out five onyxes with strange characters craved in them and filled with gold.

"When your friends left to hunt for food, Keegan set that up." Ezrin revealed and cackled, "He knew I was following and did not want me stealing his prize away. He said so himself." He told me proudly.

I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Keegan only thinks of me as some spoils of war, I thought bitterly. Can't have your booty running off on you. Can't have your prizes killing themselves.

Leaves rustled and Keegan, Angel and Damon appeared with the cheering wisps dragging a large ugly pig and a sturdy log just then. The three caught sight of Ezrin and glared menacing back at him.

"Your Piper looked lonely, so I stayed for a chat." He purred. "Can't have her upset, can we Keegan?"

Keegan viciously rammed the stick into the pig and laid it over the spit. Ezrin paled even more at the hidden message inside the movements.

"Who's the wanna-be vampire?" Damon inquired.

"Damon, Ezrin. Ezrin, Damon" Keegan introduced. "Ezrin was my babysitter growing up. Now it seems he wants to keep an eye on me *and steal what's mine*."

His harsh gaze flickered toward the Shadow man.

I shrank into myself as Angel said, Get rid of him.

"Now go be a good little Shadow man and go pester someone else." Damon told Ezrin and made a shooing motion.

"Someone else doesn't have two beautiful ladies and a nice juicy boar cooking." The Shadow man hissed.

Without a word, the wisps zipped in and began attacking Ezrin. He swatted at them and backed away as their tiny claws bit into his flesh. Finally he vanished into the shadows outside of the light of the campfire and the wisps returned triumphant.

"Can we have some boar Keegan?" they asked zipping around him as he spun the pig over the fire. "We've been very helpful."

Keegan smiled faintly, "Okay."

"Lunchtime!" they all exclaimed as one and began ripping off slices of meat and flittered off into the forest.

I watched them go as Angel and Damon ripped off some of the bloody meat. They seemed so happy with their little mischievous ways and lives. What I remembered of the Sirens' joint memories, they too were happy.

I began wondering, just a little, what it would be like to truly be a part of Niflheim. To play with the wisps. To sing and dance with the Sirens. To love Raziel—

"Want some?" Keegan asked snapping me back to the here and now as he offered me a hunk of juicy meat.

I thanked him as I took the meat and began eating it automatically, giving the blood and calories as little thought as possible. My mother would be shouting at me that this meat was filthy, vile, and would turn my beautiful skin and teeth into a disgusting mess. All my father would be concerned about is how he would make a profit from the tusks and skin.

"If Stefan could see me now." Damon muttered, "Feasting on a pig and its blood. What a nightmare."

Angel and Keegan shot him a dirty look, so I decided to break the ice.

"Does anyone know any ghost stories?" I asked brightly. "I know one about a dead man's finger in a church's offering plate."

Ewww! Angel said with a wince.

"How did that happen?" Damon asked puzzled.

"I'll go track down supplies to make us a shelter." Keegan told us rising to his feet. "I've heard this tale before." Before I could stop him, he was gone.

"The tale begins on a dark and stormy night" I began in a low spooky voice. Thunder rumbled and both Angel and me screamed, earning a laugh from Damon.

By the time the story was finished and rain finally did arrive, Keegan and Damon built us all a small tent with branches and large leaves. The fire was safe from the storm and we relaxed in tropical isle style. For beds, we used grass woven rugs and cloaks the wisps brought back. The cloaks had a fine white powder on them and smelled faintly of blood.

I chose to ignore those facts.

"Do you think we can win this Game?" I asked hours later as Angel and Damon slept nestled together. I stared outside at the five onyxes circling our campground and at the dark mound of cloth nearest to the exit.

"We'll win." The mound said with Keegan's voice. "We'll win and then I'll take you home where you can feel safe."

"What if I don't feel safe there?"

There was a brief pause.

"Then, maybe, some star filled night will come and the music will be just right and *He* will come, confessing the feelings he feels for you and take you away into the night where you shall never suffer again." He told me quietly.

I sighed, wishing it were he doing those things instead of some faceless guy Keegan was depicting.

"How will I know this man?" I asked quietly.

"When he comes into your room, he will say everything you longed for him to say and then" Keegan paused and laughed, breaking the spell. "You and the guy will split."

I smiled and settled down for the night. I dreamt of the nights spent with a faceless man. He whispered of sweet nights, endless and beautiful. I turned to him, expecting it would be Keegan I was with.

Instead the dark features of Raziel were revealed.

Uh oh, I think she giving in. What do you think?