Surprisingly enough, I do not own anything at all to do with NW. Honestly.
IceHeart161: What can I say? I am a mean girl. Thanks for reading, and I shall be checking out your story soon!
Leopardess: Cool, a new reader! Yaay! And I couldn't resist the cliffhanger. It practically begged to be written. Yes I am evil.
Tamashii: Yes I was rather annoying with that last cliffhanger. Though perhaps not to that extreme... I have my own lawyer and look forward to seeing you in court. Lol.
Practikalmagik: Honestly! Not reviewing! Tut tut. But then, fanfiction.net can be infuriating at times, especially when it says the 'site experiencing overload, come back in a few minutes' message, and when you come back, its STILL overloaded. You're forgiven though, I suppose. Thanks a million for reviewing, and I hope you do so again!
Neoen: Jess as Kel's knight in shining armour was a bit of a let-down, heh heh. But I couldn't resist. The mental image of Jess with a bat knocking out a cocky vampire was just too funny.
Eri: Lol, I think I've learnt my lesson about having too many cliffhangers. And nobody's perfect, be it with spelling or grammar or anything like that, even though it's nice to try to be. ^_^
Rayv: Thanks, and I shall indeed write more.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all and sundry, especially my reviewers! This has been THE most reviewed chapter ever, and this is good also because a lot of them have been new reviewers! Yaaay! Personally, I think it was the oh-so- skilful rhyming couplets that did it.
~ Please review! Please review! And this is a telepathic message! Hee hee! ~
I promise, no, I swear there will not be a cliffhanger ending to this chapter! Lol. My lawyers are too busy with complaints about the recent ones. But enough of this incessant babble! What has happened to Kel?
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The shocking transition from unconsciousness to wakefulness came suddenly, and was unwelcome. Kel wanted the careless numbness that oblivion gave her She craved it, as if offered a safe haven away from all these new and overwhelming problems that assailed her so ferociously. So even though she was aware of everything, she kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be dead to the world.
Through half-closed lids, she surveyed her situation. She was lying upon the floor, and it was hard and uneven, cold as ice, and very uncomfortable. The desire to fidget and move was terribly tempting, but she would not do so until she had ascertained whether it was safe. Kel supposed the floor was concrete, or maybe stone. She was lying with her head in a corner. She also realised that her hands and feet were bound with some unidentifiable, strong fibre that did not seem to be humanly breakable. On the far side of the room, two unfamiliar forms slumped, seemingly lifeless. One was a redheaded female, the other a male with mousy coloured hair, both also bound up. She ignored them for now. They were not important to her at the moment.
The room was small and dark, illuminated only by the flickering flames enclosed in several brass braziers, with a low ceiling and bare brick walls. Near those two bodies, there was a door, and it looked as if it were made of steel. Kel's hopefulness faded as soon as she saw that. The door looked totally foolproof.
Suddenly she realised something was missing. Her stomach pain. Was she cured? Or maybe she was very ill indeed, so much in pain that lack of sensation had come to her. Unable to contain her curiosity, she gingerly sat up. In this position, she was able to see an area of the room hidden to her thus far.
And in this place lay Jess and Charlie. Well, Jess, and various bits of Charlie strewn carelessly about, an arm here, a leg there, and gore everywhere. Actually, some bits were missing, his legs for example. The only thing that identified the body as Charlie's was his head. Dried blood and bits of other tissues caked the floor, and Jess lay covered in the disgusting mash of Charlie's entrails, her blonde hair matted with redness. Charlie was dead. Jess just looked deathly pale, but there was something strange about her that made Kel afraid without knowing why.
Kel took this all in quite calmly, her face impassive. Then she let out a terrifying scream; her face contorted in pure agony. The noise was positively unearthly, a cry from the heart, the music of a tortured soul. She then dissolved into tears, bitter, painful tears as she wept for the end of innocence, for Charlie who had been utterly blameless and never did anything wrong, for Jess who seemed to be dead, yet still alive. How had she become so inextricably tangled up with vampires and suchlike?
She felt the blood drain from her face; no doubt she looked as pale as a ghost now. But that didn't matter any more. Tears slid down her face, infinite in number, yet none would be enough to heal this wound. What had she ever done to deserve this punishment?
"You alright kid?" a voice from the other end of the room called. It was the redhead. She was now sitting up awkwardly and regarding her with calm grey eyes. She was a good-looking woman. Almost too good looking...
"You're a vampire, aren't you?" Kel said challengingly, but unfortunately, even though her words were tough, the way she was cowering in the corner, shivering as she kept glancing at the bloody mutilated remains of Charlie, meant that the words had minimal impact. "Keep away from me, you bloodsucker." Even that threat was half hearted.
The woman laughed harshly. "I'm a Daybreaker, but not a vampire. Colm is though, but he's from Daybreak as well, so it's OK."
Kel was confused. "What's a Daybreaker?" she asked fearfully.
"Don't you know?"
"Well, seeing as vampires and stuff were all just a fairytale to me this morning, you can forgive me for being a little 'out of touch' with supernatural current events," Kel smiled wanly.
"Wha..." Burdette looked stunned and a bit puzzled by this comment, which also perplexed Kel.
"Burdette, that girl is a human. Did you really think she would know what a Daybreaker is?" It was the mousy haired guy speaking; Colm, but Kel could not detect any movement from his body. Strange that.
"No shit," Burdette said with a look of surprised pity.
Kel didn't like being pitied, but she just did not have the energy or willpower to stop the woman doing so. And she didn't think she could bring herself to say that classic cheesy line - I don't want your pity! - because it would probably make her go hysterical, or insane. Being situated next to the defaced and messed up carcass of your friend's brother often seemed to have that effect on people, she had noticed.
"So you're human?" Burdette said wonderingly.
Kel nodded weakly.
"And you know nothing about the Night World?"
Kel shook her head. "Nothing whatsoever. Get your mind reading pal over there to check it all up if you must."
Burdette looked over at her prostrate vampire friend, and evidently, they knew that she was telling the absolute truth. "I could have sworn you were a vampire or a witch or something like that!" Burdette exclaimed.
"Back up a second," Kel said in disbelief. "Did you just say witch?"
"Yes. I'm a witch. What's wrong with that?"
Kel just looked utterly horrified, her face frozen in an almost humorous look of revulsion. She'd just become accustomed to the idea that vampires were real, and now witches were being brought into the equation? She buried her head in her hands, a gesture of utter despair. Drops of salty wetness spilled from her eyes, dampening her already tear-drenched face, as she snivelled miserably.
~ Burdette, I don't think this young lady was aware of the existence of witches. From what I have gleaned from her mind so far, she's human, as I have just confirmed. She came to see Bloodmoon tonight at the Iris with some friends, and to interview them afterwards, but she has discovered the existence of vampires and gotten kidnapped instead. Those two over there are, well, were, those friends. She's aware of the existence of vampires, and now witches, only. ~ Colm communicated telepathically with his slightly clueless witch colleague, sighing at her lack of perception and tact. But he couldn't move at the moment to do the job himself. He'd received a thorough beating from the guards earlier, and was in pure agony, though he did not show it.
"Oh," said Burdette in a low voice.
~ Well, now you've let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I think it would be wise to tell her about the Night World and such. Spread the message, like good little Daybreakers. ~ Colm could not keep the sarcastic note from out of his voice.
Ignoring Colm's supercilious tone, Burdette began to try and move herself, thinking that her vampiric partner was a total jerk. By rolling, jerking and various other acrobatics, she managed to get closer to Kel.
Noticing the redhead's strange efforts, Kel said nothing. What use was speaking, thinking or feeling at a time like this? She felt hollow and empty and dry, and unable to give anymore. She yearned for comfort, for normalcy, because she knew that the revelations of today had changed her life forever, and she was terrified of the implications. Who wouldn't be, after seeing what had happened to Jess and Charlie? Thinking of them made her look again, and when she saw the unending horror of the violent bloodstained scene she could not bear it. She turned away, knowing that she could never be 'normal' again.
"Kid," Burdette began hesitantly.
"It's Kelsey, my name is Kelsey," said Kel softly, staring moodily, blindly at the floor. "Please don't call me kid. I am not a goat."
Burdette decided that the girl was funny in the head. "Goat?"
"Never mind."
"Look, I'm going to tell you the truth. The whole truth. You don't know the half of it. You think witches and vampires are bad..."
~ On the reassurance front, Burdette scores a big, fat ZERO!! ~ Colm wondered why Burdette was so bad with words. Still, practice makes perfect, right? Well, even if it didn't it was sure fun to watch her mess up and squirm, time after time.
Burdette paused and glanced at Colm. She was sure that he was sniggering. Bastard. But then, he was in pain. That always made him grouchy.
Kel's interest had been piqued by the redheaded witch's comment. She needed to know the full facts of the situation before she did anything about it. That was the way things worked in a logical brain. Kel had never been logical, but it was surprising what could happen when you were plunged into a dangerous and bizarre situation. It could almost turn your head upside down.
"Carry on," said Kel, some of the colour coming back into her voice.
"Well, basically, there was this organisation. The Night World. It's a secret society of vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters, and other creatures of darkness. It had laws, and governed nearly all of us. They said that you could do basically anything to humans, except two things. Things punishable by death."
Kelsey found herself morbidly fascinated by this exotic tale. "These things were...?" she prompted.
"Never let humans find out that the Night World exists. And, never fall in love with one of them," said Burdette bleakly, her eyes darkening to a dark grey, almost black.
"Oh," said Kel, unable to think of any sort of reply to that damning statement.
"But things have changed. Probably due to the soulmate thing," she said. Noticing Kel's blank expression, she explained. "Basically, everyone in the whole entire world has a partner. A soulmate. These two people have souls that are eternally linked."
"How do you know?" Kel asked, dubious of the whole thing. She didn't like the idea of being connected to some freaky stranger.
"It's a theory. Not scientifically tested. But I won't go in to the details of it all. You just... know, I guess." The way Burdette was looking wistful and starry-eyed made Kel think that the witch girl wanted a soulmate of her own. Sweet. Totally cute. How romantic. Kel wrinkled her nose, thinking that Burdette was mad. Kel didn't believe in that theory one bit. That was just twisted.
"Yeah," Kel said, looking around shiftily. Soulmates? Got to be a joke. But Kel did not doubt the rest of Burdette's statements. They had a ring of authenticity to them, and no one could imaginative enough to create such a world in their heads. (A/N Well, except LJ Smith, lol.)
"Anyway, the number of soulmate couples have increased, and more and more Night Worlders have found their soulmates are actually human. Added to that little problem, the Old Powers are rising. These powers control natural things, and the fate of the world. Have you noticed that natural disasters are becoming more common? Well, that's why."
Now that she thought about it, Kel knew that it was true. More hurricanes, monsoons...
"And soon, the Night World got split up. There were some of us who wanted to tell humans the truth. To teach them to understand. We wanted soulmate couples to live in peace and harmony, whatever their race. We wanted more than what the Night World had to offer. So we split. Most witches and shapeshifters are on our side, but most of the vampires stuck with the Night World. We're the good, they're the bad. Well, at least in my estimation." Burdette smiled.
"There are some exceptions then?"
"Of course. Not all vamps are bad, just take a look at Colm," Burdette grinned, her grey eyes flashing. "The model of morality. A little angel."
~ Shut up Burdette. Kelsey, let me tell you the rest. There's been a prophecy stating that four kids, born 17 years ago and who have the power to control blue fire, can save the world from imminent destruction, but only if they and their soulmates survive. They must stand against the chaos and darkness at the end of the world and stop it. We've got three wild powers and two soulmates at the moment. The Night World has nothing. And so we keep searching for the ones we don't have, and generally be the good guys. ~
Kel's head rang. Telepathy was very cool, but she could feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on. His voice had been so loud in her head, so expressive...
~ It is rather good isn't it. ~
"Yes," Kel replied with a half smile. "Don't make a habit of reading my thoughts though, please."
~ Your wish is my command. ~
"Well, thanks for telling me that," Kel said, looking at Burdette and Colm's back in turn.
She tapped her fingers on the brick wall thoughtfully. Kel now knew the truth. How did it feel? Well, she wasn't sure that it had all sunken it yet.
Then, Colm moved stiffly, manoeuvring himself into an upright position. Predictably, he was absolutely gorgeous, his eyes a shocking violet colour that seemed too bright to be allowed. But he looked, well, terrified out of his wits.
"I think we may have a small problem," he said, indicating Jess.
"What? She's dead!" exclaimed Burdette.
"I wish that were true," said Colm seriously.
"Hey! Don't you dare say that!" Kel yelled angrily. "She was a good person, mostly anyway, and she was..."
"Look Kelsey I didn't mean to offend. I'm sure she /was/ a nice person, but I've just realised that someone has changed her into a vampire. I didn't notice before, I was in so much pain..." He looked embarrassed to admit this. "So what she /is/ now is definitely not human, and she definitely won't hesitate to kill you when she wakes."
Kel looked at Jess, struggling to see the vampire in her, but she looked just like usual, only she had a deathly pallor about her.
"What do we do?" Burdette asked timidly, in hushed tones.
"My watch tells me that it has been two days since the girl and the other... person... got here. You came later, a day ago. It takes three days for a vampire to wake up after the final blood exchange."
"So we have one day," said Burdette. Kel thought that it didn't sound very long.
"Isn't there any chance you could be wrong? That she'll be OK when she wakes?" Kel was desperate to find a way to redeem Jess.
"No, I'm certain that they've changed her. When they wake, all any newly made vampire wants is blood. She won't care who it's from. She'll go crazy, killing everyone in here. Me included. I can't control her, she'll be driven by blood lust."
"What are we going to do?" asked Kel worriedly.
"My dear, we are going to escape!" said Colm dramatically. "Burdette and I will brainstorm. You relax a bit. Looks like you need it."
"Oh, thanks," Kel replied sarcastically.
She was now thinking about something, remembering something. Her stomach was fine. Someone must have cured her. It made sense, because according to Colm, the kidnappers had brought her to the cell a day after Jess and Charlie. Kel wondered who had thought to make her better, only to send her to be slaughtered by her own friend. It didn't fit. Kel had a small hope that someone out there cared for her, just a bit, just enough to want to help her.
Malachi Redfern was the kidnapper. The Bloodmoon manager. The vampire. And Bloodmoon themselves were of the Night World. They were vampires too, or something like that anyway. And now she saw why the doorman of the Black Iris had tried to stop them going in. He'd recognised that they were human, and wanted to protect them. But they'd gone anyway. Why was that? Oh, that was an easy question to answer. They'd gone because Jake had sent them. But why had Jake sent them to a Night World Club?
"Oh shit," she whispered. Kel was not usually the kind of girl who swore. The picture was becoming clearer and clearer. Jake had told them to meet Malachi Redfern too. Did that mean that Jake... had /meant/ for all this to happen? And that evidently lead to another conclusion - Jake was a Night person. He must be. How else would he have known?
"What is it, Kelsey?" asked Burdette curiously. The girl had gone positively green all of a sudden.
Oh, just the realisation of betrayal, Burdette. And the awakening of revenge of course.
"Nothing. What about this escape plan then?" Kel said innocently.
Colm and Burdette exchanged looks, but did not mention the strange glitter in her emerald eyes. Eyes as hard as stone and just as cold. The girl was different all of a sudden. Colm did not dare to read her mind. It was none of his business, and for that he was thankful.
That was their idea of amusement, was it? To drive three innocent children to death? To betray three blameless humans? To kill and murder people who trusted in you? Well, it was about time that Jake found out the true meaning of revenge. Just as soon as she got out of this hellhole. Him, and Malachi Redfern. She would make them suffer.
Kelsey knew that she was about to enter into a dangerous game. But humans could play just as well as Night People. Kel would show them that.
Secretly smiling, she listened to Burdette and Colm's escape plans.
Very soon, Jake. I'm coming. Are you ready to play?
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Damned long chapter there. But I just had to finish it. I'm not so sure whether it's good though. So tell me, what do ya think?
Kel wants revenge,
What will she do?
Can they escape?
To find out, REVIEW!
Will they get out before Jess the vampire awakens and starts feeding on them all? And if so, what is Kel going to do to Jake? It's a mystery, folks. So review. I beg you. REVIEW!
IceHeart161: What can I say? I am a mean girl. Thanks for reading, and I shall be checking out your story soon!
Leopardess: Cool, a new reader! Yaay! And I couldn't resist the cliffhanger. It practically begged to be written. Yes I am evil.
Tamashii: Yes I was rather annoying with that last cliffhanger. Though perhaps not to that extreme... I have my own lawyer and look forward to seeing you in court. Lol.
Practikalmagik: Honestly! Not reviewing! Tut tut. But then, fanfiction.net can be infuriating at times, especially when it says the 'site experiencing overload, come back in a few minutes' message, and when you come back, its STILL overloaded. You're forgiven though, I suppose. Thanks a million for reviewing, and I hope you do so again!
Neoen: Jess as Kel's knight in shining armour was a bit of a let-down, heh heh. But I couldn't resist. The mental image of Jess with a bat knocking out a cocky vampire was just too funny.
Eri: Lol, I think I've learnt my lesson about having too many cliffhangers. And nobody's perfect, be it with spelling or grammar or anything like that, even though it's nice to try to be. ^_^
Rayv: Thanks, and I shall indeed write more.
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all and sundry, especially my reviewers! This has been THE most reviewed chapter ever, and this is good also because a lot of them have been new reviewers! Yaaay! Personally, I think it was the oh-so- skilful rhyming couplets that did it.
~ Please review! Please review! And this is a telepathic message! Hee hee! ~
I promise, no, I swear there will not be a cliffhanger ending to this chapter! Lol. My lawyers are too busy with complaints about the recent ones. But enough of this incessant babble! What has happened to Kel?
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The shocking transition from unconsciousness to wakefulness came suddenly, and was unwelcome. Kel wanted the careless numbness that oblivion gave her She craved it, as if offered a safe haven away from all these new and overwhelming problems that assailed her so ferociously. So even though she was aware of everything, she kept her eyes closed, pretending to still be dead to the world.
Through half-closed lids, she surveyed her situation. She was lying upon the floor, and it was hard and uneven, cold as ice, and very uncomfortable. The desire to fidget and move was terribly tempting, but she would not do so until she had ascertained whether it was safe. Kel supposed the floor was concrete, or maybe stone. She was lying with her head in a corner. She also realised that her hands and feet were bound with some unidentifiable, strong fibre that did not seem to be humanly breakable. On the far side of the room, two unfamiliar forms slumped, seemingly lifeless. One was a redheaded female, the other a male with mousy coloured hair, both also bound up. She ignored them for now. They were not important to her at the moment.
The room was small and dark, illuminated only by the flickering flames enclosed in several brass braziers, with a low ceiling and bare brick walls. Near those two bodies, there was a door, and it looked as if it were made of steel. Kel's hopefulness faded as soon as she saw that. The door looked totally foolproof.
Suddenly she realised something was missing. Her stomach pain. Was she cured? Or maybe she was very ill indeed, so much in pain that lack of sensation had come to her. Unable to contain her curiosity, she gingerly sat up. In this position, she was able to see an area of the room hidden to her thus far.
And in this place lay Jess and Charlie. Well, Jess, and various bits of Charlie strewn carelessly about, an arm here, a leg there, and gore everywhere. Actually, some bits were missing, his legs for example. The only thing that identified the body as Charlie's was his head. Dried blood and bits of other tissues caked the floor, and Jess lay covered in the disgusting mash of Charlie's entrails, her blonde hair matted with redness. Charlie was dead. Jess just looked deathly pale, but there was something strange about her that made Kel afraid without knowing why.
Kel took this all in quite calmly, her face impassive. Then she let out a terrifying scream; her face contorted in pure agony. The noise was positively unearthly, a cry from the heart, the music of a tortured soul. She then dissolved into tears, bitter, painful tears as she wept for the end of innocence, for Charlie who had been utterly blameless and never did anything wrong, for Jess who seemed to be dead, yet still alive. How had she become so inextricably tangled up with vampires and suchlike?
She felt the blood drain from her face; no doubt she looked as pale as a ghost now. But that didn't matter any more. Tears slid down her face, infinite in number, yet none would be enough to heal this wound. What had she ever done to deserve this punishment?
"You alright kid?" a voice from the other end of the room called. It was the redhead. She was now sitting up awkwardly and regarding her with calm grey eyes. She was a good-looking woman. Almost too good looking...
"You're a vampire, aren't you?" Kel said challengingly, but unfortunately, even though her words were tough, the way she was cowering in the corner, shivering as she kept glancing at the bloody mutilated remains of Charlie, meant that the words had minimal impact. "Keep away from me, you bloodsucker." Even that threat was half hearted.
The woman laughed harshly. "I'm a Daybreaker, but not a vampire. Colm is though, but he's from Daybreak as well, so it's OK."
Kel was confused. "What's a Daybreaker?" she asked fearfully.
"Don't you know?"
"Well, seeing as vampires and stuff were all just a fairytale to me this morning, you can forgive me for being a little 'out of touch' with supernatural current events," Kel smiled wanly.
"Wha..." Burdette looked stunned and a bit puzzled by this comment, which also perplexed Kel.
"Burdette, that girl is a human. Did you really think she would know what a Daybreaker is?" It was the mousy haired guy speaking; Colm, but Kel could not detect any movement from his body. Strange that.
"No shit," Burdette said with a look of surprised pity.
Kel didn't like being pitied, but she just did not have the energy or willpower to stop the woman doing so. And she didn't think she could bring herself to say that classic cheesy line - I don't want your pity! - because it would probably make her go hysterical, or insane. Being situated next to the defaced and messed up carcass of your friend's brother often seemed to have that effect on people, she had noticed.
"So you're human?" Burdette said wonderingly.
Kel nodded weakly.
"And you know nothing about the Night World?"
Kel shook her head. "Nothing whatsoever. Get your mind reading pal over there to check it all up if you must."
Burdette looked over at her prostrate vampire friend, and evidently, they knew that she was telling the absolute truth. "I could have sworn you were a vampire or a witch or something like that!" Burdette exclaimed.
"Back up a second," Kel said in disbelief. "Did you just say witch?"
"Yes. I'm a witch. What's wrong with that?"
Kel just looked utterly horrified, her face frozen in an almost humorous look of revulsion. She'd just become accustomed to the idea that vampires were real, and now witches were being brought into the equation? She buried her head in her hands, a gesture of utter despair. Drops of salty wetness spilled from her eyes, dampening her already tear-drenched face, as she snivelled miserably.
~ Burdette, I don't think this young lady was aware of the existence of witches. From what I have gleaned from her mind so far, she's human, as I have just confirmed. She came to see Bloodmoon tonight at the Iris with some friends, and to interview them afterwards, but she has discovered the existence of vampires and gotten kidnapped instead. Those two over there are, well, were, those friends. She's aware of the existence of vampires, and now witches, only. ~ Colm communicated telepathically with his slightly clueless witch colleague, sighing at her lack of perception and tact. But he couldn't move at the moment to do the job himself. He'd received a thorough beating from the guards earlier, and was in pure agony, though he did not show it.
"Oh," said Burdette in a low voice.
~ Well, now you've let the proverbial cat out of the bag, I think it would be wise to tell her about the Night World and such. Spread the message, like good little Daybreakers. ~ Colm could not keep the sarcastic note from out of his voice.
Ignoring Colm's supercilious tone, Burdette began to try and move herself, thinking that her vampiric partner was a total jerk. By rolling, jerking and various other acrobatics, she managed to get closer to Kel.
Noticing the redhead's strange efforts, Kel said nothing. What use was speaking, thinking or feeling at a time like this? She felt hollow and empty and dry, and unable to give anymore. She yearned for comfort, for normalcy, because she knew that the revelations of today had changed her life forever, and she was terrified of the implications. Who wouldn't be, after seeing what had happened to Jess and Charlie? Thinking of them made her look again, and when she saw the unending horror of the violent bloodstained scene she could not bear it. She turned away, knowing that she could never be 'normal' again.
"Kid," Burdette began hesitantly.
"It's Kelsey, my name is Kelsey," said Kel softly, staring moodily, blindly at the floor. "Please don't call me kid. I am not a goat."
Burdette decided that the girl was funny in the head. "Goat?"
"Never mind."
"Look, I'm going to tell you the truth. The whole truth. You don't know the half of it. You think witches and vampires are bad..."
~ On the reassurance front, Burdette scores a big, fat ZERO!! ~ Colm wondered why Burdette was so bad with words. Still, practice makes perfect, right? Well, even if it didn't it was sure fun to watch her mess up and squirm, time after time.
Burdette paused and glanced at Colm. She was sure that he was sniggering. Bastard. But then, he was in pain. That always made him grouchy.
Kel's interest had been piqued by the redheaded witch's comment. She needed to know the full facts of the situation before she did anything about it. That was the way things worked in a logical brain. Kel had never been logical, but it was surprising what could happen when you were plunged into a dangerous and bizarre situation. It could almost turn your head upside down.
"Carry on," said Kel, some of the colour coming back into her voice.
"Well, basically, there was this organisation. The Night World. It's a secret society of vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters, and other creatures of darkness. It had laws, and governed nearly all of us. They said that you could do basically anything to humans, except two things. Things punishable by death."
Kelsey found herself morbidly fascinated by this exotic tale. "These things were...?" she prompted.
"Never let humans find out that the Night World exists. And, never fall in love with one of them," said Burdette bleakly, her eyes darkening to a dark grey, almost black.
"Oh," said Kel, unable to think of any sort of reply to that damning statement.
"But things have changed. Probably due to the soulmate thing," she said. Noticing Kel's blank expression, she explained. "Basically, everyone in the whole entire world has a partner. A soulmate. These two people have souls that are eternally linked."
"How do you know?" Kel asked, dubious of the whole thing. She didn't like the idea of being connected to some freaky stranger.
"It's a theory. Not scientifically tested. But I won't go in to the details of it all. You just... know, I guess." The way Burdette was looking wistful and starry-eyed made Kel think that the witch girl wanted a soulmate of her own. Sweet. Totally cute. How romantic. Kel wrinkled her nose, thinking that Burdette was mad. Kel didn't believe in that theory one bit. That was just twisted.
"Yeah," Kel said, looking around shiftily. Soulmates? Got to be a joke. But Kel did not doubt the rest of Burdette's statements. They had a ring of authenticity to them, and no one could imaginative enough to create such a world in their heads. (A/N Well, except LJ Smith, lol.)
"Anyway, the number of soulmate couples have increased, and more and more Night Worlders have found their soulmates are actually human. Added to that little problem, the Old Powers are rising. These powers control natural things, and the fate of the world. Have you noticed that natural disasters are becoming more common? Well, that's why."
Now that she thought about it, Kel knew that it was true. More hurricanes, monsoons...
"And soon, the Night World got split up. There were some of us who wanted to tell humans the truth. To teach them to understand. We wanted soulmate couples to live in peace and harmony, whatever their race. We wanted more than what the Night World had to offer. So we split. Most witches and shapeshifters are on our side, but most of the vampires stuck with the Night World. We're the good, they're the bad. Well, at least in my estimation." Burdette smiled.
"There are some exceptions then?"
"Of course. Not all vamps are bad, just take a look at Colm," Burdette grinned, her grey eyes flashing. "The model of morality. A little angel."
~ Shut up Burdette. Kelsey, let me tell you the rest. There's been a prophecy stating that four kids, born 17 years ago and who have the power to control blue fire, can save the world from imminent destruction, but only if they and their soulmates survive. They must stand against the chaos and darkness at the end of the world and stop it. We've got three wild powers and two soulmates at the moment. The Night World has nothing. And so we keep searching for the ones we don't have, and generally be the good guys. ~
Kel's head rang. Telepathy was very cool, but she could feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on. His voice had been so loud in her head, so expressive...
~ It is rather good isn't it. ~
"Yes," Kel replied with a half smile. "Don't make a habit of reading my thoughts though, please."
~ Your wish is my command. ~
"Well, thanks for telling me that," Kel said, looking at Burdette and Colm's back in turn.
She tapped her fingers on the brick wall thoughtfully. Kel now knew the truth. How did it feel? Well, she wasn't sure that it had all sunken it yet.
Then, Colm moved stiffly, manoeuvring himself into an upright position. Predictably, he was absolutely gorgeous, his eyes a shocking violet colour that seemed too bright to be allowed. But he looked, well, terrified out of his wits.
"I think we may have a small problem," he said, indicating Jess.
"What? She's dead!" exclaimed Burdette.
"I wish that were true," said Colm seriously.
"Hey! Don't you dare say that!" Kel yelled angrily. "She was a good person, mostly anyway, and she was..."
"Look Kelsey I didn't mean to offend. I'm sure she /was/ a nice person, but I've just realised that someone has changed her into a vampire. I didn't notice before, I was in so much pain..." He looked embarrassed to admit this. "So what she /is/ now is definitely not human, and she definitely won't hesitate to kill you when she wakes."
Kel looked at Jess, struggling to see the vampire in her, but she looked just like usual, only she had a deathly pallor about her.
"What do we do?" Burdette asked timidly, in hushed tones.
"My watch tells me that it has been two days since the girl and the other... person... got here. You came later, a day ago. It takes three days for a vampire to wake up after the final blood exchange."
"So we have one day," said Burdette. Kel thought that it didn't sound very long.
"Isn't there any chance you could be wrong? That she'll be OK when she wakes?" Kel was desperate to find a way to redeem Jess.
"No, I'm certain that they've changed her. When they wake, all any newly made vampire wants is blood. She won't care who it's from. She'll go crazy, killing everyone in here. Me included. I can't control her, she'll be driven by blood lust."
"What are we going to do?" asked Kel worriedly.
"My dear, we are going to escape!" said Colm dramatically. "Burdette and I will brainstorm. You relax a bit. Looks like you need it."
"Oh, thanks," Kel replied sarcastically.
She was now thinking about something, remembering something. Her stomach was fine. Someone must have cured her. It made sense, because according to Colm, the kidnappers had brought her to the cell a day after Jess and Charlie. Kel wondered who had thought to make her better, only to send her to be slaughtered by her own friend. It didn't fit. Kel had a small hope that someone out there cared for her, just a bit, just enough to want to help her.
Malachi Redfern was the kidnapper. The Bloodmoon manager. The vampire. And Bloodmoon themselves were of the Night World. They were vampires too, or something like that anyway. And now she saw why the doorman of the Black Iris had tried to stop them going in. He'd recognised that they were human, and wanted to protect them. But they'd gone anyway. Why was that? Oh, that was an easy question to answer. They'd gone because Jake had sent them. But why had Jake sent them to a Night World Club?
"Oh shit," she whispered. Kel was not usually the kind of girl who swore. The picture was becoming clearer and clearer. Jake had told them to meet Malachi Redfern too. Did that mean that Jake... had /meant/ for all this to happen? And that evidently lead to another conclusion - Jake was a Night person. He must be. How else would he have known?
"What is it, Kelsey?" asked Burdette curiously. The girl had gone positively green all of a sudden.
Oh, just the realisation of betrayal, Burdette. And the awakening of revenge of course.
"Nothing. What about this escape plan then?" Kel said innocently.
Colm and Burdette exchanged looks, but did not mention the strange glitter in her emerald eyes. Eyes as hard as stone and just as cold. The girl was different all of a sudden. Colm did not dare to read her mind. It was none of his business, and for that he was thankful.
That was their idea of amusement, was it? To drive three innocent children to death? To betray three blameless humans? To kill and murder people who trusted in you? Well, it was about time that Jake found out the true meaning of revenge. Just as soon as she got out of this hellhole. Him, and Malachi Redfern. She would make them suffer.
Kelsey knew that she was about to enter into a dangerous game. But humans could play just as well as Night People. Kel would show them that.
Secretly smiling, she listened to Burdette and Colm's escape plans.
Very soon, Jake. I'm coming. Are you ready to play?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Damned long chapter there. But I just had to finish it. I'm not so sure whether it's good though. So tell me, what do ya think?
Kel wants revenge,
What will she do?
Can they escape?
To find out, REVIEW!
Will they get out before Jess the vampire awakens and starts feeding on them all? And if so, what is Kel going to do to Jake? It's a mystery, folks. So review. I beg you. REVIEW!
