Chapter Fifteen
(A/N: Where'd all the people go? Too few people reviewed the last chapter…)
Disclaimer: Simon and Zoe don't belong to me. Unfortunately, I don't remember who they belong to. The book is called The Silver Kiss, though, if that helps. If I got anything wrong having to do with them, its not my fault. I didn't read the whole thing, just the 'good' parts as I flipped through. Then it was due back at the library. *shrug* Oh well. Ummm…Jander belongs to WotC. Nire, Azazel of Belasarius, and everything of Azazel's belongs to ME!!!!!! R/R/E
Simon could feel himself begin to fade. It wasn't unpleasant - in fact, it felt pretty good. When he had decided to attempt this, he wasn't sure if he would become mortal once more or actually turn into a sunbeam. The last thing he felt was Zoë's arms around him and her love giving him the strength not to run from the deadly rays.
He felt himself becoming solid again, and fought back a cry of bitter disappointment. But, perhaps he was in heaven. Or hell. Looking around, Simon decided it must be heaven. Until he heard the mortal heartbeat and smelled the distinct scent of a vampire. Looking across the small stream, he saw them - a young girl and a young-adult vampire.
He felt moisture pricking at the backs of his eyes and he fought it back. He was still condemned to his hell, but now in another would, and without Zoë. He fought back a wail of anguish.
Nire glanced at Jander. This was decidedly odd. He looked to be from her world. "What's your name?" She called over in English.
Jander moved slightly in front of Nire - he could tell the 'boy' was a vampire - as Simon answered. "Why?" His self-reservation instinct - and the paranoia that went with it - was kicking in.
Nire could tell he wasn't going to be easy, and she didn't have the patience to deal with another Azrael. So, she went digging, to see what his beef was.
Her visage immediately went to sympathetic. "Oh, no, you didn't," she said softly. "Didn't you know this would happen? When you become a sunbeam, it isn't literal. The sunbeam takes you to another world, to start anew." She saw the utter defeat in his eyes, and felt sorry for him.
"And I can't ever go back?" The defeat in his voice disgusted him.
"Why would you want to go back"? Jander asked. Nire glanced at him quickly. He sounded like he had experience. She looked back at the boy quick enough to see the look on his face.
"You've got a girl back there, don't you?" Nire began to get angry on behalf of womankind everywhere. "What kind of asshole are you? That's the kind of shit you pull after she's dead, or you've broken up with her. And I'll bet you made her watch." She stalked off into the woods, making a point.
Jander looked at the boy, at the slowly crumpling face, and took pity on him. "Don't worry, she'll be back, and she'll help. Give her five minutes or so to get over her women's anger." He wished he had enough energy to gate the lad back to his home. He knew the upheaval caused by changing worlds.
He was right - Nire stalked back ten minutes later. "You want to go back?"
Simon warily nodded. He wanted to go back so badly. Even if he wasn't mortal. But he wasn't sure he trusted these people.
"Picture where you were right before you came here, and I'll put you there the night after." Nire hopped over to his side of the stream and picked the place from his mind. Then she quickly fashioned a gate. Simon stared in fascination but backed away in fear. It was the fear fire instilled in him, and the sun.
"Step through this, and you'll be there. I know, it screams danger at you. But it won't hurt you. What have you to lose?"
She was right. He had nothing to lose. Simon steeled himself and walked through the area. Right before he went through, he squeezed his eyes shut tight. The next thing he knew, he stumbled over a bench. Opening his eyes, he saw he was back. And it was nighttime. Letting out a shout of joy, he began to run to Zoë's house.
* * * * *
Zoë threw herself down on her bed and began to sob. She had made it through the day without Simon. But once night fell, it finally hit her that he was really dead. He was happy when he died, but… Sobs wracked her body.
She almost shrieked when someone touched her shoulder. No one should be in the house - her father wasn't due back until the morning, probably. Lifting her face from her pillow, she saw that it was Simon, standing by her bed. But he couldn't bet here. He was dead. He had turned into a sunbeam.
"Yes, I'm real, Zoë."
She slowly lifted up a hand to touch his marble cold face. The touch quickly turned into a caress as she felt his solidness. Simon leaned into the warmth of her hand, smiling happily. He bent down and began to kiss the salty tears off her face, ending on her lips.
"How are you here?" Zoë asked around the kiss.
"A mortal angel sent me back. In other words, I don't know. I'll tell you the story later." Simon kissed her again, slicing her lip to taste her blood. She was real. He was real. They were real.
* * * * *
Nire sighed as Jander turned to her. "You do realize you just seriously messed with fate and the gods," he said.
"Yes, and I don't care. Don't you dare go off on me tonight." Nire turned back tot eh view she couldn't see in the dark.
Jander came up behind the young girl and put his hands on her shoulders. He was pleased when she didn't pull away. "I wouldn't dream of it, little one." He began to massage her tight shoulder muscles. "Little one, one day, the world will fall into place for you. Be patient."
She snorted. "If you say so."
* * * * *
Nire began her research. She needed to find out all she could about Azazel of Belasarius and his tower. Her search was relatively fruitless. She had to go and find out for herself. She would have to search the forests of Tethyr for herself.
On Saturday morning, Nire prepared to be gone all day, and through part of the night. She went out to the kitchen before she dressed. Her dad was outside, and her sister was down at Jill's house.
"Ma. I'm going to be gone all day and probably part of the night. In case Dad asks, now you have time to come up with something." She headed back to her room.
"Wait!" her mother called. "I want to talk to you."
"It'll have to wait until I come back. Or tomorrow. See ya." Nire shut the door to her room and quickly changed. She didn't take many weapons, only one sword and a few hidden knives. Then she gated to the heart of the Tethyrian forest.
It was quiet. Too quiet, she thought dryly. She took a moment, turning in a full circle, to orient herself. No animals were making noise, which Nire found odd. But, she decided it was because of her sudden appearance. Flickering in the trees drew her attention toward the sky. The air shimmered slightly, which she attributed to the rising heat. However, there was no shimmering in front of her, only above the trees. Could that be heat waves? Nire forgot to take into account the fact that it was winter and too cold for heat waves. Even in Tethyr. She found a couple rocks nearby, and made a pile, marking the place so she would know if she came back to it. And, that would make it easier to gate to the place.
Nire headed away from the shimmering, deciding to work outwards from the center in relatively straight lines. As she wandered through the wood on that sunny day, she felt eyes upon her and caught flickerings in the trees. But she soon disregarded it as animals, too lazy to send out her mind and make sure. She was confident that she could take care of any danger that came her way.
As the day wore on, and the light grew dimmer, and darkness was falling, she found herself back in the exact same place she had gated to. She was immediately struck by the odd silence. As she had gotten farther from the place, animals had began making noises. But here, once again, it was oddly silent. Nire swore as she noted the pile of stones she had made -the cairn to mark her stop. This was going to be much harder than she had first anticipated. Perhaps she would have to postpone the giving for a while, if she couldn't find the place. Or, come up with a spell of her own. She looked up and saw that the shimmering was still there. It gave her a slightly bad feeling, for some unknown reason. But it was just heat rising. She shrugged to herself and moved towards it, the opposite way from which she had gone. She had said that she would be gone for a while. She could search all night if she wanted. Her stomach growled - she hadn't eaten anything all day - but she ignored it. That could wait, too. She took a quick sip of water as she continued.
She had only taken a few steps before the world shimmered around her and changed before her eyes. She was now in a labyrinth - a maze of hedges.
(A/N: Well, was that a good cliffhanger? I have absolutely no idea if mine are good or not, so someone please tell me! Sorry for the shortness, but I wanted to stop at a good part. And that looked good. Ummm…I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Me and my sister have this thing going, to prove who the better writer is (me, obviously), so I have to work on that original tale. Oo, maybe a cliffhanger (that might not be a cliffhanger) isn't a good thing… Too bad for you people. Would you mind if I posted an unfinished chapter, then finished it later? Yes? No? Talk to me here! Thank for reading, I hope you review, and I pray you enjoyed!)
