Chapter 5
It was ten in the morning the next day. Orion had skipped breakfast, and was pacing the room furiously, each step leading him nowhere, just like his thoughts.
It could not be true. It just couldn't be. Trent was an amazingly strong telepath-she had probably already gotten inside his mind. She probably already knew what was going on. She was playing with him, just the way she had played with Kor! It was a mind illusion, that was what it was. Trent had gotten past all his carefully constructed shields, and used an illusion to make him think she was his soulmate. She probably thought that he would fall in love with her, and then she would kill him. She was playing with him, she had to be.
Then how come it felt so incredibly real? a nasty, romantic voice in his head whispered. How come it was a shock to her as well as you? He kicked the voice away. She was a good actress; she was acting, pretending to be panicked.
Orion stopped pacing. If she had gotten into his mind.....she knew all of his plans. Which meant basically that he was done for. So what could he do? Give up? Go back to Selyah, get out with his life, tell her he couldn't do it?
He sneered. Yeah fucking right. It would be a cold day in hell before Orion forfeited any job, no matter how difficult.
He had to admit, though, that it looked bad. She knew he was trying to kill him. How, then, could he complete his mission? She's not expecting you to do it tonight, the rational part of his mind whispered. She's expecting you to be convinced by her mind trick. If you go tonight, and kill both her and that traitor Ash, you might be able to do it. Orion smiled. Yes. That was exactly what he would do.
You're going to kill your soulmate? You're going to kill the one person in the world who is meant for you? It was that stupid little romantic voice again. It wasn't quite as easy for Orion to kick it away this time.
He went to the window and looked out. It was a sickeningly beautiful day: blazing sun, not a cloud in the too-blue sky, and temperature somewhere in the eighties. He hated these kind of days. They were too damn cheerful.
Trent wasn't his soulmate. She couldn't be-he was almost positive. She just-couldn't be. And even if she was.....well, if he didn't kill her, he was dead himself. Selyah would find him, no matter where he was, and kill him quite effectively. As much as he hated to admit it, he was deathly afraid of Selyah. No matter where he was, no matter where he went, Selyah would find him and kill him. He had seen her do it to agents even closer to her than he was. Even if he went to Circle Daybreak, she would still find him. She had found Trent, hadn't she? And so, what it all came down to was, either he or Trent had to die. And Orion did not want to die. He had practically sold his soul; if he died now......he didn't want to know. Would he just blink out, not exist? Or would he go to some weird scary vampire hell? Despite the fact that he was not at all religious, Orion believed very strongly in Heaven and Hell. At least, he had when he was human-when Selyah turned him into a vampire at age sixteen, he decided that Heaven and Hell didn't really apply to him. Now, four years later, he wasn't so sure.
He refused to die. Which meant that Trent had to. Even if she was his soulmate-which she wasn't-he would have to kill her. Better her die than him. He had been just fine without her, he had been perfectly-well, if not happy, then at least content. He was just fine without her. And on top of that, he had a reputation to maintain, didn't he? He grinned to himself. What would the Night World think if he, the cold killer, let emotions get the better of him? They would kill themselves laughing.
Tonight. He would do it tonight. He refused to listen to that romantic voice in his head. It was either her life or his, and Orion had given up too much to die now.
Trent surfed the channels, not really looking at the TV. She was alone in the room, as always. It seemed that these open minded' Circle Daybreak people were deathly afraid of anyone different. No one had even spoken to her since her first breakfast here, not even Poppy, who had seemed friendly enough. Trent suspected that her boyfriend had warned Poppy away from her.
She didn't really blame Thea for staying away from her. After all, the first time Thea had spoken to her, Trent had slammed a door in her face. Trent wasn't sorry about that at all-she had done Thea a favor. If she really had told Thea why she was so cold, Thea would have run away screaming.
She didn't really mind being alone. She would much rather be alone than have all of Circle Daybreak constantly bugging her about Ash. They, of course, had all taken his side, assuming that she had done something to him, instead of the other way around. And that was probably what he thought, as well. Bastard.
Trent clicked the TV off and went to the window with a sigh. She was trying as hard as she could not to think of last night, but she was trying in vain. No matter how she tried to distract it, her mind kept going back to Orion. What the hell had happened last night? It had felt like she was hit by lightning, electrocuted and fried to a crisp! It was the scariest thing that Trent had ever encountered. She had been inside his fucking mind! Completely against her will! And...this was the scary part....she knew he had been inside hers.
Trent was used to her psychic powers getting out of control. It used to happen almost daily, with disastrous results, but luckily she had managed to get it under semi-control. But this-this was like nothing that had ever happened to her. It was something entirely new, and more intimate than anything she had ever encountered. She had been inside Orion's mind. With just a touch, she had seen his soul. From just a touch, she knew him better than anyone on the planet, as she knew he knew her.
It scared her shitless.
People like Thea, naive, cheery people, might like that kind of intimacy, they might think it was great romance. They might glory in it, love it, be thrilled by it. Not Trent. For Trent, intimacy of any kind was her worst nightmare.
And she had reason to be so afraid of closeness. There were secrets in her mind, secrets that, if unleashed by anyone, could kill her and the person she'd allowed to get so close. She didn't want anyone to get close enough to see those secrets. And just look at what happened the last time she'd gotten intimate with a guy: she had nearly killed him, he had scarred her for life, and she had been on the run ever since. Wherever any type of relationship was concerned, Trent was a disaster waiting to happen.
She scowled and walked away from the window, up to her room. She would have to avoid Orion like the plague, that was all. If she avoided him, nothing could happen-right?
Mary-Lynette smiled blissfully up at Ash, a smile which he returned. It was so-good to be with him again!
Ash laid down next to her. So, what do you think of Circle Daybreak? he asked casually, acting as if her answer didn't matter. Mary-Lynette grinned and kissed him. I love it, she whispered in his ear. He smiled and tried to kiss her again, but she rolled over on her back. I like everyone here very much, she said. But, Ash, who is that girl, Trent? You seemed kind of....angry at her.
Ash stiffened. She's nobody, he said, his voice infinitely colder. I just....knew her before. Mary-Lynette didn't have to ask before what.
She grinned and poked him in the ribs. You liar, she teased. If she's nobody, then how come she sets you off so much?
Ash stared off into the distance. He did not want to explain Trent to Mary-Lynette. As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, when it came down to it, he had raped her. He did not want to admit that to Mary-Lynette; did not want to see the look of shock and horror on her face, did not want to face her accusations and righteous anger. She-she was one of my friends before I met you, he said quietly. And she wasn't very happy when I joined Circle Daybreak. But something happened to her, and I guess she had a change of heart. Well, it wasn't completely a lie. Trent had not been happy that he'd joined Circle Daybreak, and she and he had been acquaintances before Ash met Mary-Lynette.
Mary-Lynette studied him carefully. She had never seen him quite as-well, moody was the only word that described his temperament. Well, if she joined Circle Daybreak, she must have changed, right? I mean, you did. Ash frowned. I doubt she has, he said. I wouldn't trust her for a second. At least that part was true.
Mary-Lynettte looked thoughtful. was all she said, but Ash was sure she was up to something. And he was sure he wouldn't like it. Listen, Mary-Lynette, he said urgently. Trent may look all right, but she's dangerous.
Mary-Lynette was very curious about Ash's former friends, especially this one.
But he just shook his head. Just-trust me, she definitely is.
Hm. Well, I'm hungry. I'm going downstairs to get some grub. She sat up and stretched for a good fifteen seconds before standing up. Wanna come with? Ash yawned, looking like a worn-out cat. Do you mind if I stay here? I'm dead tired. Mary-Lynette smiled fondly at him. Sure. Go ahead. I know how tiring sitting around all day watching TV must be. He only smiled and lay back down, half-asleep already. Mary-Lynette walked quietly out of the room, but instead of going towards the kitchen, she walked instead to Trent's room. She trusted Ash completely, but she knew that there was more to Trent than he was telling her. For some reason Trent fascinated her, and she desperately wanted to talk to her.
Reaching Trent's room, she was a little bit afraid to knock. Ash had said she was dangerous. Very dangerous. And she had a feeling he was telling the truth about that. Taking a deep breath, she knocked. A few seconds later a disgruntled Trent answered, looking quite pissed off. Her voice felt like a glacier.
Mary-Lynette took a deep breath. I-I wanted to talk to you. About-about you and Ash, and why you're at Circle Daybreak.
Trent narrowed her eyes. She was in no mood for nosy humans, especially not Ash's soulmate. Still, the girl's thoughts were determined, and she didn't seem quite as prejudiced against her as the rest of the Daybreakers. And Trent had to admit she definitely had spunk. she said grudgingly, and walked back inside the apartment, motioning for Mary-Lynette to follow.
Once inside, Mary-Lynette was startled at the complete lack of personality of the apartment. It looked like a hotel room, except, of course, with clothes and cigarette butts strewn all over the floor.
Trent flopped down on an uncomfortable sofa, lighting up a cigarette. Mary-Lynette sat down opposite her on an equally uncomfortable chair, making a face at the unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke.
Trent took a deep drag on her cigarette. she said. What do you want to know?
Well-everything. I wanted to know what happened to make him act so-weird-around you, how long you've known him, and, well, everything, she said lamely. I asked Ash, and he wasn't very truthful.
Trent grinned evilly. Worried? Jealous? Afraid his eyes might be roving?
Mary-Lynette was indignant. No-no! I, I just wanted to know about you, and, and what happened between you guys, and why he was lying about it! I wasn't worried about him, or jealous, or- she stopped when she realized Trent was laughing at her.
Trent smiled smugly and took another drag of her cigarette. I was born in the same town as him-and his precious sisters. They all hated me because I was a freak, because my mom was a witch, while my father was a vampire.
Mary-Lynette was surprised. Even Ash? She nodded. But he said you guys were friends! Trent laughed. No-he wanted to fuck me, but we were never friends.
There was an awkward pause.
Trent laughed again. Don't worry. Any desire he ever had for me is completely, totally, assuredly dead.
Another pause. Mary-Lynette bit her lip. She was treading on very thin ice, and she knew it. What- what happened to make him hate you so much?
For a while Trent didn't answer. She was staring int space, trying desperately not to think about that awful night three years ago. Why why why did this girl want to talk about it? Didn't she understand that she was pouring salt on a wound not yet healed, a wound that never would heal? However, as much as Trent did not want to talk about it, she had a Chrissake, she had a right to know what she was getting into. Still. Look, I really don't think you want to know. Believe me, you don't.
That's true, I don't want to know. But I need to know. Clear, determined eyes met Trent's. Ash didn't tell me the truth, which means it was something vastly important....and horrible. Trent, he's my soulmate. I deserve to know what he's been doing. Trent was silent again. Then she sighe. I guess you're right. Here goes, then. She took a long drag on her cigarette and began.
It happened three years ago, when I was fifteen. My parents were dead, and I was living with an aunt whom I hated. I was every bit the miserable, moody teenager-I hated everyone. Not that I didn't have reason to-everyone I'd ever known thought I was a freak, including Ash.
I used to sneak out of the safetown I lived in each night and go to clubs a few miles away, just to get out of there once in a while, and because I never could sleep. One night Ash saw me sneaking out of the house and invited me to go out with him and his friends. Not because he was being friendly-as I told you before, he wanted to fuck me.
To cut a long story short, he got me punch drunk and raped me. I suppose I said yes to him at first-I was too drunk to say no. But later I said no, I fought and struggled, but he was sober and therefore stronger than me. He tried to drink my blood, and no doubt would have killed me. But my blood was poison to him-he couldn't drink it. I managed to get the stake in my boot out and stabbed him, four inches from his heart. He nearly died, and his friends were after me. I had a few other mix-ins with Night World law, and soon the whole Night World was after me. I've been running ever since.
So. Now you know the whole story. Trent gave a strange, bitter half-laugh half-sob. Happy now? She sneeked a peek at Mary-Lynette, who thankfully had not interrupted.
Her eyes were closed, as if she were struggling with too much emotion. When she opened them, they were strangely remote and sad. To Trent's horror, she saw......pity. Mary-Lynette pitied her! She closed a fist around her cigarette, anger rising like bile in her throat.
Mary-Lynette was speaking again. He's changed since then. He really has, she said.
Trent gave her a Look. Then why didn't he tell you the truth? He'll never change.
Mary-Lynette ducked her head. I don't know why he didn't tell me, she whispered. But I intend to find out. She looked up again, and the look of pity was still there, making a blaze of fury wash over Trent again.
Thank you for telling me the truth, Mary-Lynette said. I know that must have been hard. Thank you. She got up to leave. Trent smiled, a nasty smile. How do you know I wasn't just lying to you because I hate Ash? she said.
Mary-Lynette looked back at her, hesitating. I just-I guess I don't know. But I believe you.
Trent snorted. You shouldn't believe everything you hear, kiddo.
Mary-Lynette shot a death glare at Trent. Does that mean you lied to me?
Not neccessarilly. But it doesn't mean I told the truth either.
I see, Mary-Lynette said stiffly. Well, thank you anyway, even if you were lying. The pity was gone from her eyes and her thoughts, to Trent's great relief, and was replaced with suspicion and anger.
Mary-Lynette turned to go, feeling far worse than when she came.
Trent gulped. How-how did you know that you and Ash were- she grimaced.
Mary-Lynette stared off into space remembering. He came over to my house, asking questions about Mrs. Burdock-I guess he was checking out all of her neighbors. Well, when we were introduced, we had to shake hands. Well, when we touched hands, it was like someone had touched a live wire to my spine. The room spun and turned pink, and I felt like I was being electrocuted. I could even-I think-feel a few of Ash's thoughts. She looked back at Trent, who was staring at her, a look of horrible fear on her icy features. Mary-Lynette felt a chill down her spine. Why? Why did you want to know? she said, her voice shrill. The fear on Trent's face scared her.
Trent gave a start, and replaced the fear on her face with her usual calm coolness-or tried to. Oh, no reason, she said lightly. I was just curious.
I see. Mary-Lynette looked at Trent one more time before going out the door.