Disclaimer: I don't own Nightworld, L.J. Smith does.
Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed, sorry this is taking me so long
to complete. I would like to dedicate this chapter to practikalmagik, who
sent so many kind reviews and to Rashel and Reisi who archived me as one of
their favorite authors, I am so flattered! Thanks!
* * * On most days Mary Lynette was what one might call pretty. She was slender and dark and her face emanated calm and will. Today wasn't one of those days.
Her face was blotchy and dirty (grease stains are hard to remove) the rest of her features were marred by frustration. From her crouch on the kitchen tiles Mary Lynette swiped back a couple of loose snarls of hair. This was not how she wanted to meet Ash. She needed all of her wits about her when she finally confronted him and that meant clean clothes and a shower.
The clock on the wall next to the microwave flashed the time to be 3:28. Good, she thought, just enough time to get home and make herself presentable before they got arrived.
Mary Lynette jerked the junk drawer out and rifled through the odds and ends it contained. Finding a pen and a scrap of paper she scrawled a note telling the Redferns that she planned to go home and clean up and that they shouldn't worry about waiting up for her if they had any plans themselves.
* * * "What's taking her so long?" Ash moaned in typical Ash-fashion. Folding and un-folding the piece of paper in his lap, Ash tried to worry about Mary Lynette while maintaining his "cool-ness."
"Stop whining you'll ruin your image. You've asked the same question for the last half an hour! You read the note yourself, she said she would be over soon, so stop worrying. The message is timed at 3:30 or around there, it's only 4:45, give her some time! I personally don't know how Mary Lynette can stand to be around you for an hour much less as a soulmate!" Kestrel sneered, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice.
"She must be really excited to see me. I can see it now, her propped in front of a vanity, curls in her hair-wearing the perfect dress while trying to apply the right amount of make-up to still my heart. Oh, how she loves me," Ash rolled his eyes in accompaniment to his dramatic interpretation of Mary Lynette's getting ready.
"Hold on lover boy, it always takes Mary Lynette this long to get ready, especially when she's avoiding something as vile as you," Kestrel poked fun at Ash for the millionth since his arrival.
"I thank Goddess that Mary Lynette wasn't there for the um, eventful ride home from the airport. Did any of you happen to glance at the attendants, oh, I felt so sorry for them. You three really are horrible whenever you come together," Rowan chided.
"You really suck the life out of every occasion," Ash joked, and threw back his head when he realized the dual meaning behind his words.
"Wow, Ash you're really punny. Maybe you should show that side of yourself to Mary Lynette. What you lack in brains and brawn you seem to make up in humor," Kestrel derided her brother.
"Don't be so sarcastic Kestrel, you'll give him a false sense of hope," Rowan mock-warned.
Everyone else in the room went silent, Rowan never took sides. Circumstances pointed to this trip as first in many things.
* * * Mary Lynette spun a tight circle, the billowy dress floated around her ankles like a wave on the sea.
"How about this one?" Mary Lynette asked her brother's reflection in the mirror.
"I think that it looks nice, just like all of the other outfits," Mark sighed. He was having a hard time dealing with Mary Lynette's insecurities of late. Having her not around at home anymore and then the rest of the time her emotional distance made the brother-sister bond difficult to uphold. However, it was good to have the old Mary Lynette, smiling and in her old room with some of that old spirit.
"Are you sure? You don't think it looks like I've tried to hard do you? I don't want to give Ash the impression that I am desperate or anything, because I'm not. Maybe I should change back into my jeans. What do you think? Mark, I'm sorry to keep bother you, but could you unzip me?" Mary Lynette turned her back to Mark and lifted her long hair so as not to snag it in the finicky zipper.
"No. I don't think you should change anymore. I think you look fine just the way you are, stop fretting. Ash doesn't care what you wear or don't wear," Mark grabbed hold of the jeans in question and nudged his older sister away from him.
"What's that supposed to mean," Mary Lynette said on raised eyebrows, hands on hips.
"Nothing sexual, only that I don't think Ash is all that concerned with how you look. Ash loves you- not what clothes you happen to be wearing," Mark smiled and rose from his seat to leave, "whatever you choose to wear will be fine, if you like it and if it makes you feel comfortable. Look at Jade and me, we're soulmates, but do you see us worrying over fashion. Being soulmates is beyond the material; it goes beyond anything that we can understand. I wish I could show you that. I'm starting to sound like Yoda aren't I? Oh, well, I've gotta go. Promised to help with dinner. Good luck whatever you wear I'm sure you will look beautiful to Ash."
Mary Lynette stared at the indent on the bed where her brother had just sat. Mark was wiser, and taller than a year ago, funny that he almost sounded more mature than even she did. On the nightstand the alarm clock blinked 6:00. She crossed the room, jerked the phone off the receiver and dialed.
"Ash? Oh, sorry Jade, can I talk to your brother? Well, he is there isn't he? No, I'm not feeling so well- don't think I can come over tonight, but I wanted to say hi to Ash before I turn in. Six O'clock, yeah, I know. I guess I must have inhaled too much dust. Well, just cause you are vampires doesn't mean you can't tidy up the house! Are you gonna put Ash on or what?" in agitation and guilty Mary Lynette switched the phone to the other ear, "Hi, Ash I don't think I will be able to make it over."
* * * The tinny sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs caused Mary Lynette to set down her book and suck in her breath. Below, she could hear the door open and her brother's low voice conversing with another.
Mary Lynette leaped from her desk chair, quickly flipped the light switch, and flung herself headfirst at her bed. In under two seconds she was tucked under the covers with her eyelids sealed shut, a very convincing simulation of sleep if she were to say so herself. The only noise that gave her true condition away was the reverberating thumps of her heartbeat.
Calm down, she thought. Just because somebody had come to visit did not necessarily mean that the visitor was for her. It could be one of Mark's or her dad's friend, she tried to reason against her nervous mind. That was when she heard the gentle tread of footsteps heading towards her room. She pulled the bedspread higher as her eyes popped open, no point to pretend she was asleep. She wouldn't have been able to pull it off anyway, not with a psychic vampire like Ash in the house. Her face must have been pale, paler than the moon outside her window, but the light of the electronic clock sporting 8:00, lent her ghoulish profile a garish tint.
The unnerving rattle of the handle made for a dramatic entrance, at least as far as Ash was concerned. The hallway light behind him, framed Ash in his silhouette like the aura of some sinister angel. An angel from hell. The demon she loved. And couldn't.
"Why did you lie to me Mary Lynette? Mark told me all about this ploy when I first came in. Why would you lie to me about something this simple? All you had to was call and say, ' Ash, I don't want to see you,' and I promise you I wouldn't have even come over here. As it was I was really worried about you. I don't have much experience being ill myself, but you are special- you're like part of me. I was afraid you really were sick and that you were worried you might get us sick- and then I realized that you knew that being sick wouldn't affect me or my sisters, so there really wouldn't have been any harm in your coming over. Then I thought, maybe she needs her sleep, but then I noticed your bedroom light on. I came here to investigate- I think I caught the crook red handed. I just can't figure out the motive. Why didn't you want to see me?" Ash asked, his face expressed his feelings of insult and victimization- in an exaggerated depiction of hurt.
"Would you please turn on the light? My eyes hurt looking at you. And this thing," she began with her hands outstretched as if to protect herself, "it's not like what you think."
"Then what is it?! Are you not ready for us? Is that it?" Ash calmly asked. It bothered her how confident he seemed regarding a subject that she was not so sure about.
"No-yes. I don't know. I can't explain. It's- complicated."
"Mary Lynette, I live in a world where vampires, witches, shape-shifters, and werewolves exist; I think that I can handle complicated. If not, I'll try," Ash shot back, one eyebrow angled as if in challenge.
She planned to give him a run for his money.
* * * On most days Mary Lynette was what one might call pretty. She was slender and dark and her face emanated calm and will. Today wasn't one of those days.
Her face was blotchy and dirty (grease stains are hard to remove) the rest of her features were marred by frustration. From her crouch on the kitchen tiles Mary Lynette swiped back a couple of loose snarls of hair. This was not how she wanted to meet Ash. She needed all of her wits about her when she finally confronted him and that meant clean clothes and a shower.
The clock on the wall next to the microwave flashed the time to be 3:28. Good, she thought, just enough time to get home and make herself presentable before they got arrived.
Mary Lynette jerked the junk drawer out and rifled through the odds and ends it contained. Finding a pen and a scrap of paper she scrawled a note telling the Redferns that she planned to go home and clean up and that they shouldn't worry about waiting up for her if they had any plans themselves.
* * * "What's taking her so long?" Ash moaned in typical Ash-fashion. Folding and un-folding the piece of paper in his lap, Ash tried to worry about Mary Lynette while maintaining his "cool-ness."
"Stop whining you'll ruin your image. You've asked the same question for the last half an hour! You read the note yourself, she said she would be over soon, so stop worrying. The message is timed at 3:30 or around there, it's only 4:45, give her some time! I personally don't know how Mary Lynette can stand to be around you for an hour much less as a soulmate!" Kestrel sneered, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice.
"She must be really excited to see me. I can see it now, her propped in front of a vanity, curls in her hair-wearing the perfect dress while trying to apply the right amount of make-up to still my heart. Oh, how she loves me," Ash rolled his eyes in accompaniment to his dramatic interpretation of Mary Lynette's getting ready.
"Hold on lover boy, it always takes Mary Lynette this long to get ready, especially when she's avoiding something as vile as you," Kestrel poked fun at Ash for the millionth since his arrival.
"I thank Goddess that Mary Lynette wasn't there for the um, eventful ride home from the airport. Did any of you happen to glance at the attendants, oh, I felt so sorry for them. You three really are horrible whenever you come together," Rowan chided.
"You really suck the life out of every occasion," Ash joked, and threw back his head when he realized the dual meaning behind his words.
"Wow, Ash you're really punny. Maybe you should show that side of yourself to Mary Lynette. What you lack in brains and brawn you seem to make up in humor," Kestrel derided her brother.
"Don't be so sarcastic Kestrel, you'll give him a false sense of hope," Rowan mock-warned.
Everyone else in the room went silent, Rowan never took sides. Circumstances pointed to this trip as first in many things.
* * * Mary Lynette spun a tight circle, the billowy dress floated around her ankles like a wave on the sea.
"How about this one?" Mary Lynette asked her brother's reflection in the mirror.
"I think that it looks nice, just like all of the other outfits," Mark sighed. He was having a hard time dealing with Mary Lynette's insecurities of late. Having her not around at home anymore and then the rest of the time her emotional distance made the brother-sister bond difficult to uphold. However, it was good to have the old Mary Lynette, smiling and in her old room with some of that old spirit.
"Are you sure? You don't think it looks like I've tried to hard do you? I don't want to give Ash the impression that I am desperate or anything, because I'm not. Maybe I should change back into my jeans. What do you think? Mark, I'm sorry to keep bother you, but could you unzip me?" Mary Lynette turned her back to Mark and lifted her long hair so as not to snag it in the finicky zipper.
"No. I don't think you should change anymore. I think you look fine just the way you are, stop fretting. Ash doesn't care what you wear or don't wear," Mark grabbed hold of the jeans in question and nudged his older sister away from him.
"What's that supposed to mean," Mary Lynette said on raised eyebrows, hands on hips.
"Nothing sexual, only that I don't think Ash is all that concerned with how you look. Ash loves you- not what clothes you happen to be wearing," Mark smiled and rose from his seat to leave, "whatever you choose to wear will be fine, if you like it and if it makes you feel comfortable. Look at Jade and me, we're soulmates, but do you see us worrying over fashion. Being soulmates is beyond the material; it goes beyond anything that we can understand. I wish I could show you that. I'm starting to sound like Yoda aren't I? Oh, well, I've gotta go. Promised to help with dinner. Good luck whatever you wear I'm sure you will look beautiful to Ash."
Mary Lynette stared at the indent on the bed where her brother had just sat. Mark was wiser, and taller than a year ago, funny that he almost sounded more mature than even she did. On the nightstand the alarm clock blinked 6:00. She crossed the room, jerked the phone off the receiver and dialed.
"Ash? Oh, sorry Jade, can I talk to your brother? Well, he is there isn't he? No, I'm not feeling so well- don't think I can come over tonight, but I wanted to say hi to Ash before I turn in. Six O'clock, yeah, I know. I guess I must have inhaled too much dust. Well, just cause you are vampires doesn't mean you can't tidy up the house! Are you gonna put Ash on or what?" in agitation and guilty Mary Lynette switched the phone to the other ear, "Hi, Ash I don't think I will be able to make it over."
* * * The tinny sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs caused Mary Lynette to set down her book and suck in her breath. Below, she could hear the door open and her brother's low voice conversing with another.
Mary Lynette leaped from her desk chair, quickly flipped the light switch, and flung herself headfirst at her bed. In under two seconds she was tucked under the covers with her eyelids sealed shut, a very convincing simulation of sleep if she were to say so herself. The only noise that gave her true condition away was the reverberating thumps of her heartbeat.
Calm down, she thought. Just because somebody had come to visit did not necessarily mean that the visitor was for her. It could be one of Mark's or her dad's friend, she tried to reason against her nervous mind. That was when she heard the gentle tread of footsteps heading towards her room. She pulled the bedspread higher as her eyes popped open, no point to pretend she was asleep. She wouldn't have been able to pull it off anyway, not with a psychic vampire like Ash in the house. Her face must have been pale, paler than the moon outside her window, but the light of the electronic clock sporting 8:00, lent her ghoulish profile a garish tint.
The unnerving rattle of the handle made for a dramatic entrance, at least as far as Ash was concerned. The hallway light behind him, framed Ash in his silhouette like the aura of some sinister angel. An angel from hell. The demon she loved. And couldn't.
"Why did you lie to me Mary Lynette? Mark told me all about this ploy when I first came in. Why would you lie to me about something this simple? All you had to was call and say, ' Ash, I don't want to see you,' and I promise you I wouldn't have even come over here. As it was I was really worried about you. I don't have much experience being ill myself, but you are special- you're like part of me. I was afraid you really were sick and that you were worried you might get us sick- and then I realized that you knew that being sick wouldn't affect me or my sisters, so there really wouldn't have been any harm in your coming over. Then I thought, maybe she needs her sleep, but then I noticed your bedroom light on. I came here to investigate- I think I caught the crook red handed. I just can't figure out the motive. Why didn't you want to see me?" Ash asked, his face expressed his feelings of insult and victimization- in an exaggerated depiction of hurt.
"Would you please turn on the light? My eyes hurt looking at you. And this thing," she began with her hands outstretched as if to protect herself, "it's not like what you think."
"Then what is it?! Are you not ready for us? Is that it?" Ash calmly asked. It bothered her how confident he seemed regarding a subject that she was not so sure about.
"No-yes. I don't know. I can't explain. It's- complicated."
"Mary Lynette, I live in a world where vampires, witches, shape-shifters, and werewolves exist; I think that I can handle complicated. If not, I'll try," Ash shot back, one eyebrow angled as if in challenge.
She planned to give him a run for his money.