A/N: I'm glad you all like it! I don't have a plot in mind yet, but the characters will fix that. *Grin* Sorry it took so long to update. I have a million things to do…but on the upside, I have an interview with an author on Tuesday (not a publisher…there, are, like, no publishers in Michigan. *Sobs*). I'm told mister Doug Allyn can help me figure out how to get my work published. Deciding what chapter of my best book to give 'im to read…thinking chapter 5; Iris encounters assassins…*ponderponderponder*
Fireblade K'Chona: If I get published, I'll post a BIIIIIIG note on this site over one of my chapters!
Nothin to you: Three letters: L. O. L.
Emily: Thank you!
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Chapter 2: Back again?
**Suze**
"What am I?" Paul asked, looking hurt. "I can't believe you'd ask that, Suze," he said, pouting. "Well, deSilva? You about you? Use your new mind powers and find out what I am," he said, smirking at Jesse.
Jesse frowned in concentration, and raised that eyebrow with the scar in it. "Okay, but how did you…?"
"How did I what? Come back?" Paul chuckled evilly, creeping me out. "My master likes me," he said with a smirk. "He gave me another life so I could come back and finish my job." Wow, he was being really creepy.
"Yeah, you think you could be a little creepier when you say that? Like, could you start drooling blood, and bare your fangs, maybe?" I said, putting my hands on my hips. "Jesse, what is he?" I asked, turning my back to Paul.
"He's…human," he said with a shrug. "He's a human. Er, a human shifter, but he's still human. As far as I can tell, anyway," he said, leaning against my wall. "What, exactly, is your mission, Slater?" Jesse asked him over my head. I turned around and he pulled me into his arms, letting me lean against him.
"My Job, deSilva. Not mission. Get it straight," Paul said, rolling his eyes. "Well, it was to take over earth. Now it's to bring Cali back. She wasn't supposed to die," he said quietly, almost sadly. "She was supposed to be able to break the link and kill me. I have to fix it. I - I mean, if I don't, I'm screwing up everyone's lives, not just hers." This was weird. I'd never seen him like this before. He looked really upset...but why would he be upset? He was the one who had killed her...
"Okay, so why come to us?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"You're the only two who know what happened." When I opened my mouth, Paul held up a hand. "I mean, the only two who can do anything. Father Dom is too old for all this. I need you two to come to Shadowland with me and find her," he said, standing. Alright, so that was it. He wanted help with his mission/job because he was too inept to do it himself. I had to roll my eyes.
"And how do you propose I get to Shadowland?" Jesse asked, his voice rumbling in his chest, against my ear. I suspected he was raising an eyebrow, but I didn't dare look up to see. I wanted to stay in his arms forever… "I am neither a mediator nor a shifter," he pointed out. I actually couldn't see how he wanted to go back there and risk getting stuck there and all that after he'd just come back to life.
"I know," Paul said, nodding. "That's where Cali's powers come in," he said, folding his arms. "Unless I'm completely off, you can get there through meditation. You can use her powers to take you deep into it, so your body and spirit actually split. We could try the method Father Dom and Suze used when she went up there, but something tells me it would be less like dying if you were to use Cali's powers," he said. I could see his point, really. But I still couldn't figure out why Cali being dead upset Paul so much. Unless…No. Not possible. Paul was a heartless killer. Not possible.
~Very possible, Susannah, ~ Jesse corrected me. ~It's as possible as a ghost falling in love with a mediator, ~ he mindspoke quietly, tilting my head up to look into my eyes.
In…In love?...Okay, Jesse and I would definitely be talking soon. But not now. "Okay, okay. So we'll help you," I said, turning to Paul. "But if you do anything off, it'll be your ass."
Paul held up a hand. "I'll do nothing to hurt anyone, I swear. Are you ready to do this?"
"Well, shouldn't we talk to Father Dom? Or Cali's parents? Er, foster parents, I mean," I corrected myself. "Shouldn't someone know what we're doing in case something goes wrong?" I didn't know what I was doing, and I didn't know if Paul knew what we were doing any more than I did. "I mean, we're not exactly - "
"Suze, we can't afford to wait. Besides, Jesse has to bring Cali back to life," he said, looking apologetically over at Jesse.
"I have to do what?" Jesse asked, placing me against the wall and walking over to Paul. "I can't bring her back. I don't know how. How can she come back if she doesn't have a body for her soul to get back into?" he asked, confused.
"I'm not sure, but that's where you come in. I imagine it'll be hard to do this since you won't be able to see her, but Suze and I can help you with that. Now let's do this before we can't."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
Paul shook his head. "That doesn't matter. Let's go. Now. Jesse, you go first so one of us can pull you out if it doesn't work. Sit down somewhere and put your fingers to your temples," he instructed. To my utter shock, Jesse actually listened. He walked over to my bed and sat down cross legged. "Put your index and middle finger on your temples." Jesse did. "Now think about pulling energy from your head." Jesse nodded. "Close your eyes." He did. A few seconds later, Jesse collapsed. I had an urge to go run to him, but Paul threw an arm out, stopping me. "He's fine. Let's go."
I walked over to the bed and sat down on it. I concentrated on the Shadowland, feeling the cold fog swirl around my legs as if I were back there again, and sure enough when I opened my eyes, I was. A few seconds later, Paul appeared next to me. I looked around. "Jesse?" No answer. "Jesse!"
"Yes?" a silky voice said from directly behind me. I spun around and smacked into him.
"Oh. Ah, hi." Oh yeah. Smooth, Suze. God. Why can't I ever be smooth and sexy around Jesse? No, when around Jesse, I'm squeaky and uncoordinated. Believe me, it sucks.
"Right. Now how do we go about finding Calixte?" he asked Paul, who was looking around at the doors.
"We go into the doors," he said matter-of-factly, as if he had been saying the sky is blue.
"What?" Jesse and I chorused. "Won't we get sucked in if we open them?" I asked Paul.
"Well, how else are we going to find Cali?" he asked, then started walking down the halls. "Jesse, call to her telepathically. Cali!" Paul called, then waited. No answer. "Cali?" he called, knocking on a door. He frowned, and twisted the doorknob. Instead of getting sucked in, as we had expected, there was a loud crackling noise. Paul's veins turned bright red, glowed, and he collapsed.
"What the…?" I asked, and walked over to him. When I touched his neck to check his pulse, a shock ran through me. "Ow!" I yelped.
"Are you alright, Susannah?" Jesse asked, resting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded. "We have to get him back. Maybe that will fix him…Um…"
"I'll shift back and wake you up, okay?" I grabbed Paul's hand, trying to ignore the shocks that ran through my body when I touched him, and concentrated on getting back home. When I opened my eyes, I was laying on my floor. I had evidently collapsed and rolled off the bed…oops. Good thing Jesse and Paul weren't awake to see my clumsiness. I tapped Jesse's shoulder. "Jesse," I said, trying to wake him from his meditated state. "Wake up," I added. Jesse, right on cue, opened his eyes.
"Alright. We need to figure out what's wrong with Slater, and we need to figure it out fast," he said, running a hand through that gorgeous hair of his.
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A/N: Okay, not as good as I wanted, but I got a tad stuck. Lol. The plot should get moving again and I should update more. Sorry, all! Let me know what you think of it, even if it's bad…and short. ^^;;