Part 9
She must be out of her mind. Terra sighed as she walked down the beach, looking at the early morning waves, hearing the calls of the gulls overhead as they squawked and screeched at one another, almost in some sort of private joke she was almost certain was at her expense.
She tapped her watch, the hands read 8:45am. He was late. She should have known better than to set up a meeting with a vampire first thing in the morning.
Then again, the message had said this was extremely important, so she had decided, with nothing better to do, then she might as well. She paced up along the wet sand, the sea breeze stinging her aqua-coloured eyes.
"Come on, Zaire, get your ass in gear." Sometimes working two sides was a lot harder than people seemed to realise. Making sure you didn't get caught was a lot harder. People didn't give spies the credit they deserved.
"My ass is fine, thanks."
Terra looked over her shoulder to see Zaire walking towards her. He was dressed in tight red leather pants that clung to his slender hips, the leather almost looking like it had been poured on, black shoes made heavy prints in the sand. An open black leather vest completed the outfit. His dark hair was messy, unbrushed, though that only added to the attractiveness of the picture. Her eyebrow rose. "That? At his hour in the morning?"
Zaire looked down at himself. "What?"
Terra shook her head. "Forget it. You called, said it was important. Something to do with some human, Sydney something I'm supposed to be baby-sitting for the damned Daybreakers."
Zaire nodded. "Okay, listen up, here's the deal."
* * *
Everyone at school was talking about the party. It seemed after Elenia had pulled Sydney out of the party something had happened and a girl had died.
Sydney remembered the warning pushed through her letter box, warning her against going to the party, telling her that her life had been in danger if she went.
She had been the one who had been meant to die. Part of her was shaken to the core by the certainty of that part. All this talk of Shaine and Aidan up to something...was killing her really what they wanted to do? Sydney shuddered. Why would they want to do that?
And what was all that together forever crap Aidan had been talking about, with his note and rose? As she walked through the halls to her locker between classes that morning the more she thought about it, the more her mind was starting to put the picture together. Aidan had teamed up with Shaine to set up some sort of attack so Aidan could swoop in and save her, by making her a vampire, so they could quite literally, be together forever.
The warnings, about Aidan being dangerous, about not going to the party, they had all been designed to make sure she would be at that party. Only Elenia had pulled her out before something could happen to her.
Sydney sighed, leaning against her locker. Before she had thought being a vampire might actually be fun. Then she could teach Darlene a lesson for ditching her for the popular people. She could teach the popular people a lesson for snubbing her.
Then again, she remembered, most of the popular people were Night Creatures anyway. If she were one, she could be accepted by them. But Sydney wasn't sure she was ready to become one of the undead for all eternity just to improve her social status.
"Hey, wait up."
Sydney frowned as a girl she didn't recognise came hurrying up to her through the crush of students making their way to their next class. The girl was small boned, dressed in a pale blue sundress with tiny spaghetti straps. Auburn hair fell in gentle curls around her slender shoulders, aquamarine eyes sparkled in her pretty face. "Oh, you must be the bodyguard." Sydney had to bite her lips on a snicker. "Just don't start trying to serenade me with Whitney Houston songs."
The girl's eyebrow rose and she smiled slightly. "Whatever. Yeah, I'm Terra. You're not supposed to be alone at the moment, you never know what Shaine and her cronies will be planning next since plan A has apparently screwed up."
Sydney nodded. She wasn't sure she wanted to have people following her around all the time. She liked her privacy. Only now it looked like she didn't have a choice. She knew Elenia was only trying to be helpful, but she was starting to find the help more annoying than anything.
"I take it Elenia's filled you in on everything." Sydney opened her locker, taking out what she needed for the next few classes and closing it.
Terra nodded. "The girl who died is the girl who worked with Elenia. I'm pretty sure Elenia knows a little more than she's saying."
Sydney glanced over at Terra as they walked off for their biology class. Elenia had never mentioned anything about that. "Elenia knows who killed her?"
"Something else is going on."
Great Sydney thought. More weird crap She was starting to loose her interest in this whole Night World thing. Why couldn't she just go and confront Aidan herself? As long as she took a stake with her in case things got ugly.
And on top of it, she was now starting to doubt her trust in Elenia. The girl had saved her life, but now it seemed there was something she was in on that no one else knew about. Maybe she could ask Tim, he might know.
"I've already figured out what Aidan's up to," she said as they found a seat in the bio lab.
Terra looked at her. "Yeah?"
Sydney looked around the classroom. As usual none of the other students were paying attention to her. Even so, she wasn't going to discuss anything to do with the Night World or Circle Daybreak, just in case someone overheard something they shouldn't. "Yeah."
"What if I told you I could introduce you to someone who could help you deal with the problem of Aidan, once and for all?"
Sydney's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Oh, who?"
Terra just smiled.
* * *
She must be out of her mind. Terra sighed as she walked down the beach, looking at the early morning waves, hearing the calls of the gulls overhead as they squawked and screeched at one another, almost in some sort of private joke she was almost certain was at her expense.
She tapped her watch, the hands read 8:45am. He was late. She should have known better than to set up a meeting with a vampire first thing in the morning.
Then again, the message had said this was extremely important, so she had decided, with nothing better to do, then she might as well. She paced up along the wet sand, the sea breeze stinging her aqua-coloured eyes.
"Come on, Zaire, get your ass in gear." Sometimes working two sides was a lot harder than people seemed to realise. Making sure you didn't get caught was a lot harder. People didn't give spies the credit they deserved.
"My ass is fine, thanks."
Terra looked over her shoulder to see Zaire walking towards her. He was dressed in tight red leather pants that clung to his slender hips, the leather almost looking like it had been poured on, black shoes made heavy prints in the sand. An open black leather vest completed the outfit. His dark hair was messy, unbrushed, though that only added to the attractiveness of the picture. Her eyebrow rose. "That? At his hour in the morning?"
Zaire looked down at himself. "What?"
Terra shook her head. "Forget it. You called, said it was important. Something to do with some human, Sydney something I'm supposed to be baby-sitting for the damned Daybreakers."
Zaire nodded. "Okay, listen up, here's the deal."
* * *
Everyone at school was talking about the party. It seemed after Elenia had pulled Sydney out of the party something had happened and a girl had died.
Sydney remembered the warning pushed through her letter box, warning her against going to the party, telling her that her life had been in danger if she went.
She had been the one who had been meant to die. Part of her was shaken to the core by the certainty of that part. All this talk of Shaine and Aidan up to something...was killing her really what they wanted to do? Sydney shuddered. Why would they want to do that?
And what was all that together forever crap Aidan had been talking about, with his note and rose? As she walked through the halls to her locker between classes that morning the more she thought about it, the more her mind was starting to put the picture together. Aidan had teamed up with Shaine to set up some sort of attack so Aidan could swoop in and save her, by making her a vampire, so they could quite literally, be together forever.
The warnings, about Aidan being dangerous, about not going to the party, they had all been designed to make sure she would be at that party. Only Elenia had pulled her out before something could happen to her.
Sydney sighed, leaning against her locker. Before she had thought being a vampire might actually be fun. Then she could teach Darlene a lesson for ditching her for the popular people. She could teach the popular people a lesson for snubbing her.
Then again, she remembered, most of the popular people were Night Creatures anyway. If she were one, she could be accepted by them. But Sydney wasn't sure she was ready to become one of the undead for all eternity just to improve her social status.
"Hey, wait up."
Sydney frowned as a girl she didn't recognise came hurrying up to her through the crush of students making their way to their next class. The girl was small boned, dressed in a pale blue sundress with tiny spaghetti straps. Auburn hair fell in gentle curls around her slender shoulders, aquamarine eyes sparkled in her pretty face. "Oh, you must be the bodyguard." Sydney had to bite her lips on a snicker. "Just don't start trying to serenade me with Whitney Houston songs."
The girl's eyebrow rose and she smiled slightly. "Whatever. Yeah, I'm Terra. You're not supposed to be alone at the moment, you never know what Shaine and her cronies will be planning next since plan A has apparently screwed up."
Sydney nodded. She wasn't sure she wanted to have people following her around all the time. She liked her privacy. Only now it looked like she didn't have a choice. She knew Elenia was only trying to be helpful, but she was starting to find the help more annoying than anything.
"I take it Elenia's filled you in on everything." Sydney opened her locker, taking out what she needed for the next few classes and closing it.
Terra nodded. "The girl who died is the girl who worked with Elenia. I'm pretty sure Elenia knows a little more than she's saying."
Sydney glanced over at Terra as they walked off for their biology class. Elenia had never mentioned anything about that. "Elenia knows who killed her?"
"Something else is going on."
Great Sydney thought. More weird crap She was starting to loose her interest in this whole Night World thing. Why couldn't she just go and confront Aidan herself? As long as she took a stake with her in case things got ugly.
And on top of it, she was now starting to doubt her trust in Elenia. The girl had saved her life, but now it seemed there was something she was in on that no one else knew about. Maybe she could ask Tim, he might know.
"I've already figured out what Aidan's up to," she said as they found a seat in the bio lab.
Terra looked at her. "Yeah?"
Sydney looked around the classroom. As usual none of the other students were paying attention to her. Even so, she wasn't going to discuss anything to do with the Night World or Circle Daybreak, just in case someone overheard something they shouldn't. "Yeah."
"What if I told you I could introduce you to someone who could help you deal with the problem of Aidan, once and for all?"
Sydney's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Oh, who?"
Terra just smiled.
* * *
