Chapter 4



She set the current handful of papers down. She glanced at the clock. The red numbers glowed at her angrily. Almost six in the morning. She had to get ready for school soon. Outside the window she could see the deep purple that signaled the rising of the sun. Almost the same vivid color of her eyes.

She looked at the paper on top of the pile. The translation of the parchment, of the prophecies. She glanced it over, certain that if she read it enough, she'd be able to pick the fourth Wild Power out of a crowd.



*One from the land of kings long forgotten;* That was Delos.

*One from the hearth which still holds the spark;* That was Iliana.

*One from the Day World where two eyes are watching;* That was Jez.

*One from the twilight to be one with the dark.*



The line alone suggested that the Night World was going to win. What else could it mean by "dark"?

She looked at a letter from the Council that sat beneath it. It stated her mission, with an unclear ending to the situation. "When you find the Wild Power, contact us. We will take the appropriate measures to keep Daybreak from defeating us in the Millennium Battle."

Aurora knew what that meant. The person that she discovered to be the Wild Power would be served their death sentence.

The time for the battle was drawing closer. The Millennium was only a few weeks away. What were the chances that anyone would find "The One From The Twilight," in such a short time span?

In the shower, she began to think. How did I become so evil?

She didn't have an answer. She knew that Daybreak was constructed of lost hopes and hypocrites. Also, she knew was that she wanted to be on the winning side, and Circle Daybreak didn't have the heart to win.

~*~

"Lilac!"

Aurora kept walking down the hall. Who was yelling like that?

A hand touched her shoulder and she almost jumped. Had she not been a vampire she might have.

Thalia was standing behind her. "Lilac, didn't you hear me?"

That's right. She kept forgetting she was Lilac. She smiled. "Sorry, my head's in the clouds. What's up?"

"Meet us for lunch. There's some exciting news from Daybreak that I have to tell everyone!"

Aurora almost breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll be there."

As she headed in the direction of her English Lit class again, a million thoughts ran through her head. The main one was that they had the Wild Power. Not a very good thought, but they trusted her as a Daybreak member. That meant she could find the location, and the Council could take care of the job.

As she sat at her desk she almost grimaced at the thought. Stop that! She shook her head. She just had to keep in mind that Daybreak had turned on her.

She opened her book as the bell rang, glad to put her mind on something that didn't involve vampires, witches, or people that turn into animals.

~*~

Aurora walked through the courtyard. She caught herself walking stealthily. Today was an off day. Running a hand through her hair, she walked up to the group. "Hi guys!"

Everyone offered their greeting. Aden met her with warm eyes. "Glad you came."

Something was trying to peak from the back of her mind. She pushed it away, assuming it was another sentimental Daybreak thought.

She wondered why the Council had thought that she was the person for this job.

She sat next to Litchi. Kefira was down from the tree today, playing with a piece of string from her shirt. Lander was talking to Teff about some sports game that was on television the night before. Thomas just leaned against the tree silently.

Thalia walked up to the group hurriedly. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Hurry up and tell us!" Litchi exclaimed. "I've been dying to know!"

Thalia smiled. "There's an emergency secret meeting of Circle Daybreak tonight! We're all invited to go to Vegas!"

Aurora acted happy with everyone else.

Thalia continued. "The meeting is being held at Thierry Descouedres' mansion. I have the directions in my bag. Mom let me have the van, so we can leave straight from school."

Aurora spoke quickly. "I can't make it."

Aden looked at her, worried. "Why not?"

"My foster mom, she's not big on me missing school work. And Vegas is a good six hour drive, right? There's no way she'd let me go. Not to mention I have a big report due for English Lit on Monday."

"We're going to miss you, Lilac!" Litchi looked genuinely upset.

Lander looked at Thalia. "Why do we get to go? It's not like we're a large chapter or anything."

Thalia turned her head to the side. "I don't know. The letter I got from Thierry wasn't specific. I just know that we're part of a project he has planned."

Kefira sprang up. "This is so great! An official Daybreak project! I hope there's some good looking 'shifters there."

Lander grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her down. She shook her head. "Dammit, you're going to be there."

Litchi turned to Aurora. "Are you sure you can't go, Lilac?"

She opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the bell. Saved by the bell. "I'm sure."

She started to walk away and heard loud footsteps from behind. She jumped, her dream from yesterday still fresh in her mind.

"Edgy today?" Aden smiled.

She sighed. "Yeah, a little."

"It's too bad you can't come with us." He opened the door to the school for her.

"Oh, it's okay." Then an idea spawned in her head. She pulled her notebook out and a pen. She started to scribble quickly. "Why don't you call me afterwards and tell me what happened?"

He smiled, taking the piece of paper. "Yeah, no problem."