**DISCLAIMER: The
concept of the Night World and all related characters belong to L.J. Smith, not
me.**
Author's Notes: Hi everyone. This takes place in the
Night World universe but there's not going to be much going on with L.J.
Smith's characters. These are all mine. Also, it takes place before Circle
Daybreak is formed and therefore before the Night World books take place.
Please send some feedback or review! Enjoy reading!
*******************
"In love the paradox occurs that two beings
become one and yet remain two."
~Erich Fromm~
Amulet of Artemis
by: The Silver Princess
"And this is my room," Elise said as she opened the
door.
Leilani, in a pensive mood and not apparently paying attention
to anything, followed her in. But even after knowing her just a week, Elise
knew Leilani was actually absorbing every detail.
Elise sat down on the edge of her bed, as she let her
friend wander aimlessly around her room. Today, Saturday, was the first time
Leilani had been able to see her room, which, Elise had noticed, she had
appeared uncommonly eager to visit.
"What's that?" Elise asked as Leilani pulled
something out of her pocket and placed it in her mouth.
"Oh, just some gum," she answered nonchalantly.
Elise made a face at the fib, but she'd already
accepted that there were just some things she would have to accept about
Leilani.
The flame-haired girl continued to wander around
Elise's blue-hued room, her fingers drifting lightly over her furniture, gazing
intently over all of her decorations and pictures.
"All right," she bubbled suddenly, switching moods.
"Now what about those cookies you promised me?"
Elise laughed happily as she led her to the kitchen,
where the other girl immediately pounced upon the fresh cookies, baked earlier
that morning, devouring them voraciously.
As Leilani chattered on, crumbs still clinging to her
dimples, Elise's attention wandered. Since Leilani and Xander had befriended
her, school had become a joy rather than an ordeal. Leilani was everything
she'd ever wanted in a friend. Xander, well, he remained aloof but also
protective. Like a personal bodyguard or an older brother who doesn't like
your company but still feels responsible or something to take care off me,
she thought somberly. She wished he would let his guard down. Whenever she saw
him, her chest thudded sweetly and confusingly, and she wished she could just
see him as he was, without all his protective armor. This remoteness and her
feelings of apprehension, which had not disappeared after the first day of
school, were the only thorns in the flower of her now wonderful life.
"Xander," Leilani chirped, as her twin entered the
kitchen through the unlocked backdoor.
Well, speak of the devil. "Don't you ever knock?"
Elise asked crossly, hating the indifferent expression on his countenance and
the detached look in those emerald eyes, even as they blazed at her. "Oh!"
A large golden-orange dog padded in silently behind
him. Grinning, Elise went down on her knees, exclaiming, "He's adorable! Why
didn't you tell me you had a dog!"
Xander opened his mouth to protest, but the animal
was already in her arms. "Oh, and he's just a big sweetie. Aren't you?" Elise
crooned lovingly to it as she scratched behind its ears. "What's his name?" She
hugged the shaggy creature, and his tongue darted out to try to give her cheek
a doggie kiss. She laughed and wrinkled her nose as she avoided the moist
tongue.
Casually sticking his hands in his pockets, Xander
answered coolly, "Sonakuta—Sona for short. It means Gold Dog in Hindi." She
gave him a questioning look and he added, "It's because he's a dhole, an
Asiatic wild dog, that's usually a rusty red, so we figured since he was such
an unusual color . . ." He trailed off, shrugging.
Elise noticed the glance the two twins shared, but
was too busy scratching the collie-sized dhole's belly to pay attention to it.
She laughed again in delighted surprise as he attempted to thrust his cold wet
nose into the hollow of her ear.
* * *
"Jeez, Xander!" Leilani exploded at him on the walk
home after Elise had politely said she was tired but more likely was unable to
take anymore of Xander's cold attitude. "I don't know what's gotten into you.
It wouldn't hurt to be a little kinder to her. She is my best friend, the only friend either of us has managed to
make. But noooo. You treat her almost as badly as everyone else does.
You won't even do another Seeing about her. And you have to admit, she is
important. She's more than just Elemental. Just look how Sona responded. He
never responds like that with non-witches. We trained him not to. Goddess
Xander! She is more than you know or care to admit!" She was
worked up in a frenzy now, too upset to care what she was yelling while humans
were still around. Xander ducked his head, averted his eyes from her probing
gaze, and walked determinedly on.
"Don't ignore me, Xander Morgan! She's more than
Elemental; she's my best friend! Goddess! Can't you see she wants to be friends
with you?" She paused momentarily. "Look," she seethed, quieting her voice
dangerously. "If you refuse to See anything about her than I'll force one
myself."
Aghast, Xander stopped in his tracks and stared at
his sister. It was true that he didn't want to See anything about Elise, but it
wasn't hate or disgust that was causing it. Goddess, he loved her. He'd realized it just after they first met. He loved her
golden hair and her lapis lazuli eyes. He adored her vitality and her
sensitivity. She was brave and strong, but still sweet and innocent through and
through. She was always an undercurrent drifting in his mind, intertwining
herself in all his thoughts. And as soon as he had admitted his love to
himself, he had decided to have as little to do with her as possible. Perhaps
her being Elemental was just coincidental. Maybe he was the reason she'd get
involved. Xander couldn't risk that. Especially, not when his premonitions were
warning him so strongly of a danger.
But now, someone just as precious was in danger.
Using gifts a witch doesn't truly have is dangerous, very dangerous.
Blinking resignedly, he agreed, "I'll do it,
Leilani."
Surprised at the easy defeat, she opened her mouth to
say something, but he silenced her desolately. "You're right."
They walked the rest of the way in silence, the anger
drained from Leilani. Her anger came as violently and went as quickly as a
summer cloudburst. Xander knew that Leilani understood him. Now clearheaded,
she knew that something was going on with him that she did not understand, but
she also knew that she couldn't push; he'd tell her in his own time.
They reached their house and he silently lit the
candle that they hadn't bothered to put away. The unlit room flickered eerily
in the dim light of the dancing flame.
He chanted the invocation and gazed deep into flame.
His mind fell into the black center of the flame, now stretched into a long
dark tunnel. The darkness cradled him and brought him gently spiraling to the
bottom of the abyss, light as a falling feather. He hovered delicately over the
shimmering ground that pulsed and rose, forming an image that grew to block
everything else. He Saw, and suddenly, the warmth of the blackness changed to
stifling coldness. The sour stench of fear pervaded his nostrils. Tendrils of
panic snaked around his mind, ensnaring him.
Xander physically jerked himself out of it and
stumbled drunkenly to his feet, praying that this trance hadn't lasted too long
and that they weren't too late. "Leilani!" he yelled, his voice abnormally
shrill.
"I'm right here, Xander," she murmured soothingly at
his left.
His hand gripped hers as he panted in terror, "It's
Elise. We have to hurry."
The two sped to the door, Leilani calling Sona with
her mind. In seconds, the three were out in the dark night racing towards
Elise's house. Xander cursed himself for refusing to do a Seeing before,
lowered his head, and ran faster, pulling every drop of strength for this.
* * *
Elise was cleaning up the kitchen after her
chicken-salad dinner. She scrubbed furiously at her plate, taking her anger out
on it. Her adopted parents had sent another insincerely sweet letter from the
city. Things were wonderful there. Hoped she was taking care of the house and
herself. Love, love, smooch, smooch. And by the way, sweetie, could you maybe
fix up the house in such and such way. I'm their caretaker, she thought
bitterly. Her parents had been glad to leave their freakish daughter that they
had adopted for tax reduction in the small town to tend their country house. I
was after all cheaper than hiring somebody to look after it. She placed the
last dish in the dishwasher and slammed the door shut with satisfying bang.
Elise sat down at the kitchen table, giving the
window a sharp rap with her knuckles as she went by to shoo away that annoying
black cat. She rested her chin on the palms of her hands. Oh, well, she
thought trying to keep herself from falling into despondency. You do have a
best friend now. And Xander, she told herself. Happy to think of something
else, she turned her mind to the problem of Xander Morgan.
She wasn't sure if the mahogany-haired boy even liked
her. She couldn't decide if she could even consider him a friend. All through
the week, he had hung out with the two, but every time he had almost warmed, he
would revert back to infuriating coolness. He was sort of protective of her,
but perhaps that was only because his twin sister liked her. Maybe that's why
he even bothers to speak to her at all. Her throat tightened convulsively at
the thought, and she felt like an iron vice was squeezing the breath from her
lungs.
Elise gave herself a shake, resisting the wetness
welling up in her watery blue eyes. "That certainly didn't do much to improve
your mood," she said aloud in a sarcastic voice.
Her voice sounded strangely unfamiliar and ominous in
the vacant house. She was suddenly aware that with the dark outside and the
light inside, she could only see a reflection in the window, not anything
outside. Ignoring the sudden constriction around her chest, agitatedly
different from the previous one, she rose only somewhat shakily to her feet. You've
been watching too many horror movies, she scolded herself firmly, deriding
herself for such inane fancies and taking a deep reassuring breath.
She kept repeating to herself that it was all in her mind. The nape of her neck prickled, and she glanced over at her reflection in the window. As she stared at the reflection of her wide, frightened eyes, the glass shattered with unexpected slowness, and then she felt fingers on her throat.