A Lost Tale

Disclaimer: Night World themes are not mine, but owned by the glorious LJS. The characters….all mine! I didn't say this last chapter, but the lyrics are also not owned by me. I will provide a list of the lyrics right at the end.

Rating: 15. Years of age, that is. Lots of fighting and some use of bad language in the whole story.

Author's Note: Well, I'm making good progress. Here's chapter three. Thanks to Penguin, who was kind enough to comment. What happened to everyone else? Don't you realise I'm writing a masterpiece here? Comment, would you?

Enjoy y'all, but please-oh-please-oh-please REVIEW! I'll pay you, really, I will!

WARNING: There are some swear words in here. I can't make you *not* read it, but you've been warned. So please don't sue me; I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway. I can't give you any money, but I can give you a *looks in pocket* Starburst sweet?

Enjoy:

A Lost Tale:

Chapter three

~Bailamos, let the rhythm take you over~
~Bailamos, tiqeuro, mi amore ~

         "I am bored," Topaz says, and her words cause my head to snap up. They are identical to what I was thinking a week ago, what I have been thinking for the past seven days. I *am* bored, and maybe my friend means it like that as well. I look up at her, and see she does not. She is merely talking about today, and now.

She is not bored of life, like I am.

"So what do you want to do?" Topaz plops on the couch next to me. "I dont know," I say, keeping my dark thoughts at bay. I jump up and look out of the window, and do not see that Topaz's eyes follow me worriedly. Outside, a beautiful moon is waning, and the scant light is gives shows me Topaz's Mediterranean-style back garden. Truly, it is very beautiful. Suddenly I am sick of feeling melancholy and decide to do something. With a determined air I turn to Topaz. "Let's hit Darklight." She grins at me, a flash of the old Topaz, when it was us two against the world.

I have brought my car, a very expensive Ferrari, sports model. It is a cute two-door with a huge boom box build in. I bought it a while ago, and it is painted silver, unlike the black we vampires are associated with. Honestly, we are so overrated in books.

We get in and I start it, inserting a CD with my other hand. Latino music comes blasting out of the speakers and I speed away. Right now, I am infatuated with Latino music, though over the years I have loved every music known to man, and some that are not.

As we drive on the streets many humans and Night Walkers alike look at us, and I enjoy it. It's a feeling I haven't experienced for a long time; being in control. I really should get out more.

Soon we arrive at Darklight, and are greeted by Devon. "Hello, ladies," he says putting a hand around us both. Incia appears, smiling at us and winking. Over the past week I have gotten to know her well, and I know she will be one of those friend you keep for life. " *Two* ladies, Devon?" she says, her voice mock angry. "Should I be jealous?"

Devon hurriedly lets go off of us and puts his arm around her. "Never, my love. Never." And I hear the worship in his voice and I laugh. I am amazed how much he has changed. But then soulmates seem to be doing that to everyone, dont they?

Soon I join the dance floor and dance wildly with a vampire. He is very good looking, but then aren't they all? He seems a little too possessive for my taste; his hands seem to be having trouble keeping still. Soon I get sick of it, and with an apologetic smile, I walk away. The idiot does not have the sense to leave me alone but drags me back on the dance floor. I look at him and say, calmly and in his mind ~touch me again and I will rip your little throat out and make you feel what you put humans through, capise? ~

He pales and lets go of me very quickly. I smile, angelically, and leave. I am laughing as I go outside for a breath of air. The night air is chilly, and it bites into my lungs but I welcome it. I look up at the stars and am reminded of the ones I saw fifteen thousand years ago, for the very last night as a human although I was not aware of it back then.

A grim smile crosses my features as I think of the one who changed me. I returned the favour pretty quickly, though and killed him. I am lost in thoughts I haven't thought for hundreds of years, and faces I haven't seen in equal that time cross my minds eye. The thoughts are uncomfortable, some of them and I become increasingly uneasy. Something is happening. I can feel it. As if the Gods have been paying attention to me a shrill mental voice sounds in my mind, urgent and full of fear.

~SI!!! ~ It is Topaz.

I shock and nearly jump, though I stop myself soon. ~What is it?~

~We're…sort of…in TROUBLE!~ and Topaz sends me an image of her and Devon surrounded by werewolves. My first initial feeling is anger; *no one* attacks me friends, but my second feeling is calm. They have been cornered in the little square behind the club, and there are eight wolves. Topaz and Devon are not dealing. All this I get from Topaz's mind. ~I'll be there~ I say and slink through the club, and through the office.

I arrive at the back door quickly, and survey the scene in front of me. Topaz is fighting with three wolves at once, while Devon is being beaten by another two.

Three wolves already lie unconscious. I take out my little silver dagger—thank the Gods for paranoia, I *never* travel without a weapon—and focus it on the wolf that is currently strangling Topaz. It is an easy shot, and he screams horribly as it lodges itself between his ribs.

It is also a bad move, however, as two wolves immediately lunge at me. I easily dance circles around them, and kick one of them away, hard. His ribs crack as he hits the wall and I am not surprised; I used enough force to stop a car at break-neck speed.

The second one actually gets a punch in me—before I break his hand, and his neck. Topaz, meanwhile, is enjoying ripping another wolf's hand off, literally. I retrieve my dagger and calmly stab it in one wolf that is currently pounding Devon. Devon deals easily enough with the last one, and the three of us stand there in a semi-circle. "What is going on?" I ask, a little patient; Devon is not looking so good. Incia runs outside a moment later and starts screaming at Devon, all the while flooding him with yellow healing-fire. "I *knew* something was going on, but could you be bothered to tell me? Of course not, I am just here to look good, aren't I??"

Devon is shaking his head and finally gets her to be quiet. Then he quickly explains who they are, and in his office shows us a picture of the man who is hunting him. It is a black and white photo but I can still see that whoever the guy is he was very good-looking. Not old, roughly twenty years, with darkish hair, I cannot tell, it may be brown or black.

"Devon, "I say, and now the anger stirs in me. "Leave it to me. I will—find him."

He looks up, knowing full well what I mean by 'find him'. "Be careful," he says and I touch his shoulder, leaving the office with Topaz. Good friends are so hard to find these days. "How about I join ya, Si," Topaz says. "No," I say. "Its too dangerous."

She scoffs at me and I know why. Together we have done far more dangerous things than this. "Fine," I say, but I can't keep unease out of my stomach. Something is wrong. Very wrong.

~*~

It is days later, and I am sitting in my darkened living room staring into space. I have found nothing about he who hunts my friend and I am getting increasingly infuriated. It is vexing, and I cannot shake off the feeling that something is happening or will or has. I do not know which.

 Suddenly an intense feeling to see the sun swamps me, and I am surprised. I am not particularly fond of the sun, though its light has never failed to lift my dark mood. The feeling increases and I finally give in, jumping up on the couch to reach the top of the curtains. I draw them, looking down at my garden. It is growing nicely, even in winter; a little gift by a witch friend of mine.

I look up—straight at a gun. For a moment I am paralysed and then I hear a soft click of the safety catch. I gasp and throw myself backward, the bullet passing inches away from my face and lodging itself into my wall. I quickly get up and watch in horror as a man calmly climbs through my window, now shattered. Though I've only seen him in a picture before, I recognize him immediately. It is the same man that is hunting Devon.

Great, I think. This should be fun.

He is looking at me coldly and at once I realise the photo did not do him justice. At all. He is, without a doubt, the most handsome man I have seen in all of my long, long life. He seems young, looking maybe no older than twenty – although I'm sure he is far older. He has beautiful eyes, black—yes, true black—but with gold specks in their depths. Equally black hair is tangled above a well defined, *very* nicely crafted face. It is attached to a well-worked body. For a moment I wonder what it would feel like to run my hands over those muscles, and stop, aghast. He is still looking at me, coolly, with just a flicker of hate in those eyes. I decide to go for bluff and innocence, though I do not have the latter.

"What are you; psychotic?" I yell. "Do you like shooting people?"

"The only psychotic around here is you, Ms Rion," he says and his voice is sensual, with lilting tones. Then I realise what he has said; my name.

Oh God, I think. I am in trouble. Somehow I sense I will not get myself so easily through this. He still has his shotgun—*shotgun* I am being held by a *shotgun*—faced at me. I clear my throat and carry on. "Sorry but I think you've got the wrong person."

"I dont think so." Again those lilting tones catch my attention in a way that spells problems. I smile at him, and move lightning fast, my foot catching the gun and sending it flying straight into my McDonalds lunch. He doesn't blink and I get angry. "Damn," I say irritation showing in my voice and face. "I was going to eat that."

"A vampire eating human food?" there is scorn in that voice and my anger increases. "Listen. I dont know what you want, but you had better explain yourself or get the hell out."

"Well, I'd have thought that was obvious. I've come to kill you."

Does he expect me to be impressed? I scoff. "With a gun whose size is only exceeded by that of your head—"

Suddenly I am flying, hitting the wall at the velocity of an enraged elephant. Too bad for me that my wall is wood. The breath is knocked out of me, and I groan sinking down to the floor.

Oh, the little bastard. OW!!!

However, fifteen millennia has taught me how to suppress pain quickly, and within a few seconds am back up—and now *mad*.  I hiss at him, and he smiles, the anger gone out of those eyes. "You look stressed, Ms Rion."

 That would have nothing to do with the fact that an unknown man is standing in my living room, threatening to kill me.

 But I keep silent and realise he keeps saying my name. "At least grace me with your name and reason for trying to kill me?"

He laughs, and though cruel the sound is beautiful. "Drake Blackthorn."

  Oh *shit*.I'm in a mess.

Drake Blackthorn, notorious Night Lord, famed for killing among thousands, although I'm sure my figures exceed his. If he's here, that means I must have done something *very* bad.

"So why am I favoured with your visit?" I say, and despite my predicament cannot keep the hate out of my voice. I cannot stand the arrogant bastard.

His eyes are detached, as if this is just another job to deal with. "You killed someone rather—important."

I get the feeling he wasn't going to say important, but something else. "I dont think so, but let me check to see the cleaner didn't shove the corpse under the couch while cleaning."

His eyes flare with anger again, and I see he isn't entirely unemotional. Good, it's something to use against him, if I get out of here. My window facing the street is open, and I get an idea. I move around him so his back is to the open window. "I did not kill anyone, except…Donovan Redfern?"

He frowns. "Who?"

"Ah, okay. Then I killed no one."

"You killed James Maytree," he hisses. "You killed my blood-brother."

"You have a blood brother?!" I heard he had no family, that he'd murdered them. He frowns at me and I realise I should not be focused on trivial matters. "I mean, oh dear, you're blood brother is dead?" my voice is innocent and my eyes are wide. Although in trouble I cannot help but banter with him; he seems to be so good at it. Of course, if he kills me I might not be saying that.

"Do not play the fool, Ms Rion. He told me he was coming to see you, for—matters. He was found dead in an alley."

"And what makes it link to me?"

"Your fingerprints."

Oh. Shit. My fingerprints I never leave anywhere, but what matters now is how to get myself out of this situation. "So what? I did kill him."

Anger stirs again in those eyes, and makes a step towards me. "Don't play smart, Ms Rion. It's not very becoming."

"And that comes from someone who's IQ is about the same as their puny…" and I look down at him, making sure he knows what I mean. He advances another step, and I taunt him, bringing him closer. He says a word that would make Satan blush. "Go to Hell," I say, he is close now, close enough. "Been there, done that," he says, closer even. He seems distracted and I grab my chance, lifting up the shotgun telekinetically into my hands. His eyes widen. "Wanna go back?" I grin at him. I fire.

Amazingly he dodges the bullet at such close range. I am prepared however and hit him with the gun, square on the jaw. He staggers backwards, and I move into the air, kicking him again. He reels back, closer to the window.

I swoop down, grabbing his legs and throwing him clear out of the window. He lands in a painful heap. I grab the gun and it is a moment's work to shoot him. I think the bullet is in his arm, though it does not matter. He will die in a matter of minutes (the bullets were wood). I stumble backwards and sit on my couch, shakily.

That had been scary, a feeling I have not experienced for a long time. I need to get out of here. Killing a Night lord is *bad*; they will come to find me soon. I look around my little apartment; I do not want to leave, it has become home.

But I'd rather lose my home than my life.

I sit for a few minutes more and then get up; I have to dispose of the body. But when I look out of the window once more, a horrific sight greets me.

The street is empty.

I frantically look up and down the bareness of it, but there is no one. Not a soul, although I'm not sure you can call Drake Blackthorn a 'soul'. Damn, I *really* have to get out of here. Somehow I get the impression Drake Blackthorn did not appreciate getting beaten by me, though it is an honour.

Joking to myself helps me calm, and I hurriedly begin to make preparations.

   I have to disappear before the day is over.

~*~    

        I burst into Topaz's house and she looks at me mildly from where she sits on the couch. "What's going on?" she asks, sensing my urgency.

"You are *not* going to believe this," I say, sitting down next to her.

"I'm a vampire, try me," she answers, a laugh on her face.

"I just tried to kill…Drake Blackthorn."

She stays silent, and her mouth falls open. Literally.

"Say something," I say as the silence continues.

"You did *what*?" she explodes.

"I tried to—"

"Yeah, I heard you but *why*? Don't you know he's *dangerous*?"

I sigh. "Yes, but he tried to kill me first."

"Why?"

I tell her of James Maytree, and what happened today. She sits and listens to me, her expression growing more and more worried. "We have to get you out of here," she says after I finish, and I nod. "Don't I know it."

"Wait," she says and turns to her phone. She calls someone and speaks urgently in it before putting down and facing me. "There's someplace you can stay, not far from here."

I hug her compulsively; she is *such* a good friend. We go to see the apartment she speaks of and I am satisfied. Yet do I have a choice?

It is almost the same as my last one, and I thank Topaz, who waves it away. "Just watch yourself. Drake is not known for kindness. Stay low for a while, everything will work out."

   I hope she is right.

~*~

Days later and I am well settled in to my new home. I am still cautious walking the streets and going anywhere but somehow I seem to be forgetting what has happened with Drake Blackthorn.  He has not shown himself and I boast to myself that I scared him off, but a deep part of me warns me to be careful. I do not listen.

   I am getting increasingly bored of sitting indoors and I decide to go to Darklight, it will be a chance to take my mind of this dilemma and a chance to see Devon. I have not seen him since that night we fought with the wolves. I jump in my Porsche and drive hard and fast, screeching to a halt in front of the club.

The bouncers do not bat an eyelid, they are used to my wildness by now. I grin a hello and go in. There is techno music playing tonight, not one of my favourites, so I go into the back-office.

There I find Topaz lounging on the sofa, in a very compromising position with her soulmate. "Nice image," I say and they hurriedly let go off each other, looking suitably embarrassed. I grin at them. "Where's Devon?"

"He went to meet Incia's parents," Topaz laughs. I raise my eyebrows, a little surprised, I dont think Devon has ever gone to see a girl's parents.

"Oh, well," I say, turning to go. "You can carry on now."

Topaz throws a cushion at me, which I dodge easily and I walk out, laughing a little. It is then I realise I have not laughed for a long time. I really should more.

I walk out; suddenly I do not feel like partying anymore. I leave the club and decide to take a walk. The air is crisp and the cold is cool in my lungs. I walk briskly, wrapped deep in my thoughts and I do not notice I am being followed.

Suddenly hard hands grab me from behind, and wrench my arms back. It hurts and I still immediately, I do not want to break my arms.

"Its not nice to leave people for dead," a sensuous voice whispers in my ear, cool breath tickling my neck.

"Its not nice to attack people with shotguns," I say back, panic galloping through my heart. The pressure on my arms is really starting to hurt but I refuse to make a sound.

"Revenge is necessary for me," Drake Blackthorn says.

"Ah, so the stories are true."

"Of course they are."

"I thought so," I snap my leg back and catch his knee—though that was not what I was aiming for. He lets go off me and I jump away, twirling to face him. Something tells me to run, but I dont. Maybe I should.

He straightens and regards me coolly. "Feisty."

"Retarded," I say and his eyes darken, the gold speck being emphasised even more. He regains his composure immediately however, and it leaves me wondering whether I didn't image that.

"So tell me, Ms Rion. Why did you kill James Maytree?"

"He threatened me."

He nods, as though he knew that that had been it. For a second there is a glimmer is in his eyes. It looks like…sadness, and I am immensely surprised. It seems everyone is capable of emotion, even Drake Blackthorn.

Behind me, I can hear a car approach fast and immediately I see the trap.

Too late. Too late!

I swear and turn, bolting at the speed of a car. I turn the corner back the way I came; if only I can reach the club and get to my car or to Topaz. Unfortunately the car has almost reached me and I run into an alley. The car stops and about six people run out, I count the footsteps. I risk a glance back, and dismay floods my heart.

Dark Ninjas.

I increase my speed and up ahead I see the alley is a dead end, but there is a bin and I vault onto it jumping up onto the roof. The whole process has taken me ten seconds but takes the Ninjas longer; fifteen millennia taught me to be fast.

I am running flat out across the roof, dodging flowerpots and clotheslines, literally running for my life. I've heard what those Dark Ninjas do to the people they catch and I have no wish of becoming a human porcupine.

Although, it's Drake I'm more afraid of.

Oh no. A problem arises; the roof has run out.

There is nothing in front of me, except a twenty-foot drop. I risk it and jump. For a few seconds I'm suspended in the air and then I slam into the floor, *hard*, my ankle giving out. I howl softly, wincing through the pain that shoots up my leg. I think my ankle is broken, but I can't be sure. Instead, I catch my breath for three seconds and then I'm back off running, but slower, trying to give my leg a chance to heal without losing my life.

Of course, some of the Ninjas have not made it, but there are still four behind me. Less than ten seconds later my ankle snicks into place, and I grin triumphantly.

Then I run.

Tearing away I pump my fifteen thousand years old legs, putting all my vampiric powers into it. I know I must look like a blur of dark clothing streaking by. The Dark Ninjas are falling behind, and my heart lifts. I'm going to live, I think as I near the corner. I'm going to live!

I turn the corner and slam into a gloved hand. Pain crashes into my nose and I stop, staggering backwards, holding my face. I should have known he would beat me here. Drake Blackthorn smiles at me, and for the second time this evening, hands wrench my arms back.

I sigh outwardly – screaming with anger inside – and kick the person behind me in the same way I did Drake. This person groans, and lets go. I whirl round, grab him and slam him against the wall, his head connecting with a sickening thud.

Now I am angry.

The second one produces a wooden stick, and levels it at me. He is careless and I can simply grab the stick. I grin as I pull it out of his arms and hit him with it. I whirl facing Drake.

"This obsession thing has *got* to stop!" I say.

"But that is not possible, Ms Rion," he says with a lazy curl of his lips.

"And why is that, pray tell?"

He leans towards me and for a second those black eyes fill my vision, and the gold specks shimmer deep within. His voice is cold but has a tinge of amusement. "I never give up."

Suddenly a cord is being tied around me, tight. I gasp, where did it come from? It is bark and I cannot break free. I am picked up unceremoniously and dumped in the back of a van that has appeared out of nowhere. Someone's voice – who's? – chants a few words. Words, which seem to steal into my bones, and blood, making me sluggishly weak. Suddenly I feel a great need to sleep.

No! I try to resist, try to fight – but to no avail.

In seconds I am sound asleep.

~Cut my life into pieces~
~I've reached my last resort, suffocation, no breathing~
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
One sweet push of the button below can make your life so much better. Review!