Part 13
"I don't understand why we agreed to do this," Aether complained after Blake had finally left. Juliet shrugged, taking a sip of her cocktail. She and Aether had stayed at the Black Iris after the poetry slam, when it had gone back to being a dance club.
Now she could throw off her geeky witch image. Generally, no one seemed to pay any attention to yet another pretty blonde witch. It was nothing these days, and lost witches were appearing as if they were going out of style. So the ordinary girl thing seemed to work better for her, she got more work if she wasn't making a big deal about who she was.
"I was told it would be an interesting proposition," she said, smiling dryly, straightening the skirt of her crimson cocktail dress. An outfit she happened to love so much more than jeans and t-shirts.
She actually felt sorry for the poor girl, Midian, who was going to be the basis for this insane plan. There was nothing Juliet could think of as worse than having an insane vampire obsessed with you. She certainly wouldn't want anyone like Blake Redfern having an obsession with her.
"Again, I ask why? It's dull." Aether's eyes were moving over the rippling bodies on the dance floor. "I have lots of other things I could be doing, you know."
Juliet sighed. "We got paid only half of what he promised me on the phone. You need to get on with your part. Seducing some enclave girl trying to live in the real world, how hard can that be?"
"But what if I get really close to her and she really *does* turn out to be my soulmate?" Aether made a face of disgust.
Juliet snorted. "Yeah, right. What are the chances of that happening?"
She snickered at the thought of Aether with a real soulmate. He was with a different thing every time she saw him socially. A big stress on some*thing*. He was probably the weirdest person she'd ever met with the most bizarre - tastes. He wasn't just a brainless pretty vampire.
"That seems to happen a *lot*," he complained. "I don't *want* a soulmate."
Juliet chuckled. "Just go and get it over with, who the hell would want to be your soulmate, you freak?"
That actually made him laugh. He kissed the top of her head. "If I don't die of boredom in this Briar Creek place, I'll call you."
Juliet smiled and watched him go. The whole thing was too obvious to actually happen. Finding her drink she left herself, needing to get working on her own part of the deal.
* * *
Midian had never really taken shopping before not understand the point of it. That, Rowan had insisted, was something they needed to see about, as she didn't either. So Rowan had dragged her out to the nearest city that day for a little experiment.
They'd hit all the expensive boutiques, and the trip had result in fun with vampire mind wiping and a whole new wardrobe. She was definitely starting to like Rowan more.
Midian was in a good mood for the first time since she had arrived in Briar Creek. Only to have that interrupted by an annoying hammering on the door the minute she took her shoes off.
"What?" she asked.
Mary-Lynnette and Kestrel barged in without being invited, much to Midian's indignation. "Where's Rowan?" Kestrel demanded, her gold eyes flashing dangerously.
Midian shrugged. "We went into the city, then came back, and she said she was going home."
"*That's* where you've been all day? How'd you get there? Rowan can't drive." Mary-Lynnette peered into a few of the classy bags on Midian's bed. "How did you *pay* for all this?"
Midian shrugged. "I'm not penniless," she said defensively. They didn't need to know she hadn't actually paid a single penny for anything, or her little mind games with Rowan. That was kind of weird, considering Rowan had mentioned at one point where she'd had this silly little rule that when she and her sisters first came to live here, they weren't to use their Powers unless it was an emergency. Midian hardly thought that a little shopping experiment could be considered emergency. "What's the big deal, anyway?"
"We've got a complete snotty bitch of a vampire at our house calling herself Alana Blackthorn, who insists on a meeting with Rowan," Kestrel didn't sound pleased. "And ever since *you* and your friend Blake showed up Rowan went insane."
Midian frowned. Alana was the girl Rowan had insisted could help them dispose of Blake. But Rowan hadn't exactly been too clear, considering she had been drunk. "What's that got to do with me? I came here to get away from Blake, I never expected he'd followed me. I don't know *why* Rowan's behaving the way she is, or what Blake did to her to make her act that way since he showed up."
"But who is this Alana bitch?" Mary-Lynnette asked. "She's as annoying as hell. I thought Ash was bad, but he's sugary sweet compared to her, and that really is saying something."
Midian couldn't really comment as to her Ash was always going to be the obnoxious bastard who had been Blake's party-all-hours cruel best friend. As for Alana...Why did everyone expect her to have all the answers all of a sudden, anyway? None of this was fair.
She had just wanted to escape her past, instead, it had come back and was kicking her ass. And it wasn't even like she deserved any of it.
"Alana was going to help us do something about Blake, but Rowan was drunk, so I'm not really sure what she had in mind."
Kestrel laughed, her mood brightening. "Rowan, drunk? And I missed it?"
Before anyone else could say anything, Jade appeared in the door, a dreamy look on her face. Mary-Lynnette sighed heavily. "Now what's happened?"
"Well Rowan finally came home and is talking to that Alana girl, and I just met the most gorgeous guy you've ever seen. Don't tell Mark I said that, okay?" Jade smiled sheepishly. "This guy was just really hot. Aether Something Unpronounceable."
Midian frowned, that name sent shivers down her spine, though she was positive she'd never heard of it before.
"Who?" Kestrel sounded mildly interested.
"I think we'd better get back to the house," Mary-Lynnette said with a sigh. Midian put her shoes back on and made to follow then, then changed her mind.
Something was telling her she had to find this Aether person. She'd never be satisfied. And the weird thing was - that an absolute need to find some guy she'd never met before, *didn't* seem all that weird after all.
* * *
"I don't understand why we agreed to do this," Aether complained after Blake had finally left. Juliet shrugged, taking a sip of her cocktail. She and Aether had stayed at the Black Iris after the poetry slam, when it had gone back to being a dance club.
Now she could throw off her geeky witch image. Generally, no one seemed to pay any attention to yet another pretty blonde witch. It was nothing these days, and lost witches were appearing as if they were going out of style. So the ordinary girl thing seemed to work better for her, she got more work if she wasn't making a big deal about who she was.
"I was told it would be an interesting proposition," she said, smiling dryly, straightening the skirt of her crimson cocktail dress. An outfit she happened to love so much more than jeans and t-shirts.
She actually felt sorry for the poor girl, Midian, who was going to be the basis for this insane plan. There was nothing Juliet could think of as worse than having an insane vampire obsessed with you. She certainly wouldn't want anyone like Blake Redfern having an obsession with her.
"Again, I ask why? It's dull." Aether's eyes were moving over the rippling bodies on the dance floor. "I have lots of other things I could be doing, you know."
Juliet sighed. "We got paid only half of what he promised me on the phone. You need to get on with your part. Seducing some enclave girl trying to live in the real world, how hard can that be?"
"But what if I get really close to her and she really *does* turn out to be my soulmate?" Aether made a face of disgust.
Juliet snorted. "Yeah, right. What are the chances of that happening?"
She snickered at the thought of Aether with a real soulmate. He was with a different thing every time she saw him socially. A big stress on some*thing*. He was probably the weirdest person she'd ever met with the most bizarre - tastes. He wasn't just a brainless pretty vampire.
"That seems to happen a *lot*," he complained. "I don't *want* a soulmate."
Juliet chuckled. "Just go and get it over with, who the hell would want to be your soulmate, you freak?"
That actually made him laugh. He kissed the top of her head. "If I don't die of boredom in this Briar Creek place, I'll call you."
Juliet smiled and watched him go. The whole thing was too obvious to actually happen. Finding her drink she left herself, needing to get working on her own part of the deal.
* * *
Midian had never really taken shopping before not understand the point of it. That, Rowan had insisted, was something they needed to see about, as she didn't either. So Rowan had dragged her out to the nearest city that day for a little experiment.
They'd hit all the expensive boutiques, and the trip had result in fun with vampire mind wiping and a whole new wardrobe. She was definitely starting to like Rowan more.
Midian was in a good mood for the first time since she had arrived in Briar Creek. Only to have that interrupted by an annoying hammering on the door the minute she took her shoes off.
"What?" she asked.
Mary-Lynnette and Kestrel barged in without being invited, much to Midian's indignation. "Where's Rowan?" Kestrel demanded, her gold eyes flashing dangerously.
Midian shrugged. "We went into the city, then came back, and she said she was going home."
"*That's* where you've been all day? How'd you get there? Rowan can't drive." Mary-Lynnette peered into a few of the classy bags on Midian's bed. "How did you *pay* for all this?"
Midian shrugged. "I'm not penniless," she said defensively. They didn't need to know she hadn't actually paid a single penny for anything, or her little mind games with Rowan. That was kind of weird, considering Rowan had mentioned at one point where she'd had this silly little rule that when she and her sisters first came to live here, they weren't to use their Powers unless it was an emergency. Midian hardly thought that a little shopping experiment could be considered emergency. "What's the big deal, anyway?"
"We've got a complete snotty bitch of a vampire at our house calling herself Alana Blackthorn, who insists on a meeting with Rowan," Kestrel didn't sound pleased. "And ever since *you* and your friend Blake showed up Rowan went insane."
Midian frowned. Alana was the girl Rowan had insisted could help them dispose of Blake. But Rowan hadn't exactly been too clear, considering she had been drunk. "What's that got to do with me? I came here to get away from Blake, I never expected he'd followed me. I don't know *why* Rowan's behaving the way she is, or what Blake did to her to make her act that way since he showed up."
"But who is this Alana bitch?" Mary-Lynnette asked. "She's as annoying as hell. I thought Ash was bad, but he's sugary sweet compared to her, and that really is saying something."
Midian couldn't really comment as to her Ash was always going to be the obnoxious bastard who had been Blake's party-all-hours cruel best friend. As for Alana...Why did everyone expect her to have all the answers all of a sudden, anyway? None of this was fair.
She had just wanted to escape her past, instead, it had come back and was kicking her ass. And it wasn't even like she deserved any of it.
"Alana was going to help us do something about Blake, but Rowan was drunk, so I'm not really sure what she had in mind."
Kestrel laughed, her mood brightening. "Rowan, drunk? And I missed it?"
Before anyone else could say anything, Jade appeared in the door, a dreamy look on her face. Mary-Lynnette sighed heavily. "Now what's happened?"
"Well Rowan finally came home and is talking to that Alana girl, and I just met the most gorgeous guy you've ever seen. Don't tell Mark I said that, okay?" Jade smiled sheepishly. "This guy was just really hot. Aether Something Unpronounceable."
Midian frowned, that name sent shivers down her spine, though she was positive she'd never heard of it before.
"Who?" Kestrel sounded mildly interested.
"I think we'd better get back to the house," Mary-Lynnette said with a sigh. Midian put her shoes back on and made to follow then, then changed her mind.
Something was telling her she had to find this Aether person. She'd never be satisfied. And the weird thing was - that an absolute need to find some guy she'd never met before, *didn't* seem all that weird after all.
* * *