Seeking Favor Chapter 8.
The long in being posted.
_ please don't kill me! I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those
fanfic writers who keep people hanging.but._.sorry. This is for Faith
and everyone who kept asking me to post.
Thanks to Sindel for reformatting this so that it can be posted at FF.net.
Posters of numerous missing children covered the telephone poles. One was for a young girl named Jeanne McCartney: "Last seen at Pinewood Mall. Anyone with any information about her disappearance is asked to please contact the local police department." It was a few years old, and was almost in complete tatters. Iris had stacks of posters nearly identical to this one in her office. She helped parents find their missing children. She was horrified at the idea of harming children, even human ones. She was also entirely unaware that one of the masterminds of such attacks was at her door. Jessica, Ash, and two of her Circle Midnight lackeys stormed into her house. Jessica's face was red. "What is this talk of you working for vermin?" she spat. "Excuse me?" Iris said trying to maintain calm. "You are searching for vermin spawn, yes?" Jessica stated, contempt oozing from her large pores. Her eyes glittered with malice as her fingers drummed on the table. Iris struggled to refrain from strangling the younger witch. She drew herself up to her full height and glared imperiously down at Jessica. "There is NO law against helping humans as long as they don't know what we are. Even the Crone herself sells some of her remedies to humans. YOU, as a Daughter of Hellewise, can have no objections!" She stared at Jessica coldly and had the pleasure of seeing the other girl turn several interesting shades of red. "You're on thin ice, vermin-lover! One of the scum will figure out what you are and then Night World law will sing your death!" Jessica shouted, gleeful at the thought. "You have no say in my business whatsoever and are not a part of my circle!" Iris shot an icy glare at each of them, her eyes lingering on Ash. "It's just a friendly suggestion for your own good," Ash said, waving Iris off. Iris ignored his act. "Get out of my house. You should worry about yourself, Jessica Weald. You aren't even a full-blooded witch. I wonder what else taints your blood besides Redferns?" Iris closed her eyes. "Especially around cats." Jessica's eyes widened. It was well known that Astreas like Iris had the ability to see the future. "You watch yourself!" Jessica hissed as she flung herself back towards the door and made a clumsy exit. The other witches hastily followed suit. 'Smart thing too,' Iris thought. Had they lain even a finger on her, she'd have pulled out their hair strand by strand and would have had their every move carefully tracked. Ash heaved an excessively loud sigh of relief as the witches retreated. He flopped gracefully into a nearby chair and made himself at home. "Sorry about that. I needed her to trust me," he explained, looking totally unrepentant. Laurel came running from the backyard where she had been meditating. She looked from her aunt to Ash, eyebrows raised. "What was that?" she asked. "Unwanted company that your friend here had so kindly provided," Iris said, pointing to an innocent-looking Ash. "Laurel," Ash drawled, opening his arms. "Come sit over here and tell me of my wooing," he said teasingly, pointing to his knee. "You're horrible, Ash," Laurel shook her head, grinning. Iris straightened her clothes. "Let a Redfern into your house and they're bound to make a scene," she chided. "So-I'm here." Ash said to Laurel, losing patience. She waited until she was directly in front of him to reply. "She's a nice girl. SMART girl. I approve. Even if she is a bit paranoid.although being around you-that's a safe thing." "I don't CARE for your opinion of her. It doesn't in the slightest affect my feelings for my soulmate," Ash said, seriously agitated. "And I'm not a mind reader," Laurel replied evenly. "Keh." Ash made an expressive sound with his teeth. "What do you want from me? She seemed.pleased. When I left she was wearing the necklace," Laurel considered. "She asked what you were up to, whether you were seeing anyone.seemed interested." Ash relaxed a bit. "And you told her I was being good, right?" "I did?" Laurel answered skeptically. He waved her off. "Now is not the time for games. Keh. If you ever find your soulmate." he warned, waggling a finger at her. "You'll torture me too?" Laurel asked, grinning. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amanda had finally found an excuse to go to Briar Creek. Ash wanted it, too. He'd flirted with her long before he'd joined Circle Daybreak. The whole soulmate thing was just a diversion. An. inconvenience that she could easily get rid of for him. She was enforcing Night World law. That was all. She passed a sign as she drove. 'Briar Creek. Population: 100. "Away from it all"' She was here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kestral watched gleefully as Briar Creek fell away from sight. No more empty places. No more humans. No pestering Jade. No lecturing Rowan. Oh, yeah! The prospects were finally looking good! If the night went well, once they reached the city, it would be free-range humans instead of the mangy animals she normally had to feed on. And no one would be there to stop her! Kestral looked around for Mare but couldn't find her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash never mentioned his soulmate. She didn't even know what her name was, let alone what she looked like. He didn't mention his family either, come to think of it. Did anyone know his parents' names? But then, he didn't like his parents much.and that meant that he didn't like his soulmate, either.right? If he did, then they'd be together, like the other Circle Daybreak couples were. Amanda pulled up to the dilapidated old house and parked. So this was where Laurel's car had been for so long. Amanda stared at the two story house in front of her and tried to devise a plan.Brown hair! She'd overheard him saying that his soulmate had brown hair. She'd go into this house and find a girl who looked about the right age and poison her. Amanda cautiously walked up to the house and knocked on the front door. A tall brunette that looked a lot like a model answered the door. "Hello? Can I help you?" she asked. 'This must be her!' Amanda thought. And why not? There was something different about this one. This must be her adversary. "Hi.I was on my way upstate to.see my friend, and, uh.Laurel Astrea.she said I should stop here on my way, um, there." Amanda rambled. "Funny, she didn't mention you when she was here.you must be a witch too, then," the girl said. She knew about the Night World! Enforcing Night World law meant that any human who knew about it must die. Amanda's lips curved into a vulpine smile at the thought. "Uh, yep, that's right. I'm a witch. Can I come in?" Amanda asked. "Sure, why not?" Model Girl replied. Amanda looked around the inside of the house. "So.are you alone right now?" she asked in what she hoped was a guileless voice. Her host blinked. "Yes.why?" She seemed honestly confused. "No reason." No witnesses. "Do you have anything to eat? I'm hungry.aren't you?" Amanda asked, trying to shift topics. "The kitchen's this way. So you're part of Circle Daybreak then?" "Yes," Amanda said as she watched Model Girl search the cupboards to find.fishing bait, a jar of prunes, some rather old looking chocolate, and other random junk food. Nothing in the cupboards seemed fit for consumption by anyone, vermin or otherwise. Amanda decided to take her chances with the chocolate and carefully bit off a chunk, grimacing slightly at the musty taste. "Sorry we don't have much. Does Ash do much there?" Model Girl asked, concern in her voice. Amanda froze at that. "Uh.he helps out. How about I make you something?" She offered quickly. "That's okay, I'm not hungry." The other girl said this as if it were obvious. "I make killer brownies." "I wouldn't want to bother you." By this point, Amanda was wondering if Ash's soulmate was purposely putting her off. The next step in all this was to get her name. If she knew her name, she could do even more damage. "I'm Amanda, and you are.?" "Oh, sorry! I should have told you before. I'm Rowan." "That's a lamia name." Amanda stated flatly, surprised. "Well, my family is traditional. Our father would be furious if we wanted to change our names to something less conspicuous," said Model Girl/Rowan in an almost apologetic tone. Amanda was beginning to get the sinking feeling that she'd made a big mistake. "What's your last name?" she asked tentatively. "Redfern. Why do you ask?" said Rowan. Shock. "You're Ash's sister." Amanda gaped. "Yes, but you knew that already, didn't you?" Rowan asked. So this was the errand she had been running for Ash. For his sisters. Amanda felt very stupid as Rowan led her to the living room and proceeded to tell her all about life in Briar Creek. It took three hours of listening to her babbling and answering questions before she was able to make an escape. She treated the information that Rowan had revealed about Kestral and her friend being in Seattle as completely unimportant. Meanwhile, Kestral and Mare entered Seattle.
Posters of numerous missing children covered the telephone poles. One was for a young girl named Jeanne McCartney: "Last seen at Pinewood Mall. Anyone with any information about her disappearance is asked to please contact the local police department." It was a few years old, and was almost in complete tatters. Iris had stacks of posters nearly identical to this one in her office. She helped parents find their missing children. She was horrified at the idea of harming children, even human ones. She was also entirely unaware that one of the masterminds of such attacks was at her door. Jessica, Ash, and two of her Circle Midnight lackeys stormed into her house. Jessica's face was red. "What is this talk of you working for vermin?" she spat. "Excuse me?" Iris said trying to maintain calm. "You are searching for vermin spawn, yes?" Jessica stated, contempt oozing from her large pores. Her eyes glittered with malice as her fingers drummed on the table. Iris struggled to refrain from strangling the younger witch. She drew herself up to her full height and glared imperiously down at Jessica. "There is NO law against helping humans as long as they don't know what we are. Even the Crone herself sells some of her remedies to humans. YOU, as a Daughter of Hellewise, can have no objections!" She stared at Jessica coldly and had the pleasure of seeing the other girl turn several interesting shades of red. "You're on thin ice, vermin-lover! One of the scum will figure out what you are and then Night World law will sing your death!" Jessica shouted, gleeful at the thought. "You have no say in my business whatsoever and are not a part of my circle!" Iris shot an icy glare at each of them, her eyes lingering on Ash. "It's just a friendly suggestion for your own good," Ash said, waving Iris off. Iris ignored his act. "Get out of my house. You should worry about yourself, Jessica Weald. You aren't even a full-blooded witch. I wonder what else taints your blood besides Redferns?" Iris closed her eyes. "Especially around cats." Jessica's eyes widened. It was well known that Astreas like Iris had the ability to see the future. "You watch yourself!" Jessica hissed as she flung herself back towards the door and made a clumsy exit. The other witches hastily followed suit. 'Smart thing too,' Iris thought. Had they lain even a finger on her, she'd have pulled out their hair strand by strand and would have had their every move carefully tracked. Ash heaved an excessively loud sigh of relief as the witches retreated. He flopped gracefully into a nearby chair and made himself at home. "Sorry about that. I needed her to trust me," he explained, looking totally unrepentant. Laurel came running from the backyard where she had been meditating. She looked from her aunt to Ash, eyebrows raised. "What was that?" she asked. "Unwanted company that your friend here had so kindly provided," Iris said, pointing to an innocent-looking Ash. "Laurel," Ash drawled, opening his arms. "Come sit over here and tell me of my wooing," he said teasingly, pointing to his knee. "You're horrible, Ash," Laurel shook her head, grinning. Iris straightened her clothes. "Let a Redfern into your house and they're bound to make a scene," she chided. "So-I'm here." Ash said to Laurel, losing patience. She waited until she was directly in front of him to reply. "She's a nice girl. SMART girl. I approve. Even if she is a bit paranoid.although being around you-that's a safe thing." "I don't CARE for your opinion of her. It doesn't in the slightest affect my feelings for my soulmate," Ash said, seriously agitated. "And I'm not a mind reader," Laurel replied evenly. "Keh." Ash made an expressive sound with his teeth. "What do you want from me? She seemed.pleased. When I left she was wearing the necklace," Laurel considered. "She asked what you were up to, whether you were seeing anyone.seemed interested." Ash relaxed a bit. "And you told her I was being good, right?" "I did?" Laurel answered skeptically. He waved her off. "Now is not the time for games. Keh. If you ever find your soulmate." he warned, waggling a finger at her. "You'll torture me too?" Laurel asked, grinning. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amanda had finally found an excuse to go to Briar Creek. Ash wanted it, too. He'd flirted with her long before he'd joined Circle Daybreak. The whole soulmate thing was just a diversion. An. inconvenience that she could easily get rid of for him. She was enforcing Night World law. That was all. She passed a sign as she drove. 'Briar Creek. Population: 100. "Away from it all"' She was here. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kestral watched gleefully as Briar Creek fell away from sight. No more empty places. No more humans. No pestering Jade. No lecturing Rowan. Oh, yeah! The prospects were finally looking good! If the night went well, once they reached the city, it would be free-range humans instead of the mangy animals she normally had to feed on. And no one would be there to stop her! Kestral looked around for Mare but couldn't find her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash never mentioned his soulmate. She didn't even know what her name was, let alone what she looked like. He didn't mention his family either, come to think of it. Did anyone know his parents' names? But then, he didn't like his parents much.and that meant that he didn't like his soulmate, either.right? If he did, then they'd be together, like the other Circle Daybreak couples were. Amanda pulled up to the dilapidated old house and parked. So this was where Laurel's car had been for so long. Amanda stared at the two story house in front of her and tried to devise a plan.Brown hair! She'd overheard him saying that his soulmate had brown hair. She'd go into this house and find a girl who looked about the right age and poison her. Amanda cautiously walked up to the house and knocked on the front door. A tall brunette that looked a lot like a model answered the door. "Hello? Can I help you?" she asked. 'This must be her!' Amanda thought. And why not? There was something different about this one. This must be her adversary. "Hi.I was on my way upstate to.see my friend, and, uh.Laurel Astrea.she said I should stop here on my way, um, there." Amanda rambled. "Funny, she didn't mention you when she was here.you must be a witch too, then," the girl said. She knew about the Night World! Enforcing Night World law meant that any human who knew about it must die. Amanda's lips curved into a vulpine smile at the thought. "Uh, yep, that's right. I'm a witch. Can I come in?" Amanda asked. "Sure, why not?" Model Girl replied. Amanda looked around the inside of the house. "So.are you alone right now?" she asked in what she hoped was a guileless voice. Her host blinked. "Yes.why?" She seemed honestly confused. "No reason." No witnesses. "Do you have anything to eat? I'm hungry.aren't you?" Amanda asked, trying to shift topics. "The kitchen's this way. So you're part of Circle Daybreak then?" "Yes," Amanda said as she watched Model Girl search the cupboards to find.fishing bait, a jar of prunes, some rather old looking chocolate, and other random junk food. Nothing in the cupboards seemed fit for consumption by anyone, vermin or otherwise. Amanda decided to take her chances with the chocolate and carefully bit off a chunk, grimacing slightly at the musty taste. "Sorry we don't have much. Does Ash do much there?" Model Girl asked, concern in her voice. Amanda froze at that. "Uh.he helps out. How about I make you something?" She offered quickly. "That's okay, I'm not hungry." The other girl said this as if it were obvious. "I make killer brownies." "I wouldn't want to bother you." By this point, Amanda was wondering if Ash's soulmate was purposely putting her off. The next step in all this was to get her name. If she knew her name, she could do even more damage. "I'm Amanda, and you are.?" "Oh, sorry! I should have told you before. I'm Rowan." "That's a lamia name." Amanda stated flatly, surprised. "Well, my family is traditional. Our father would be furious if we wanted to change our names to something less conspicuous," said Model Girl/Rowan in an almost apologetic tone. Amanda was beginning to get the sinking feeling that she'd made a big mistake. "What's your last name?" she asked tentatively. "Redfern. Why do you ask?" said Rowan. Shock. "You're Ash's sister." Amanda gaped. "Yes, but you knew that already, didn't you?" Rowan asked. So this was the errand she had been running for Ash. For his sisters. Amanda felt very stupid as Rowan led her to the living room and proceeded to tell her all about life in Briar Creek. It took three hours of listening to her babbling and answering questions before she was able to make an escape. She treated the information that Rowan had revealed about Kestral and her friend being in Seattle as completely unimportant. Meanwhile, Kestral and Mare entered Seattle.
