Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. I was supposed to have an editor… but he still had not return me the edited version (grammar and sorts), so… I guess I can't wait. If he did send me later, then I'll just replace this chapter with it. But no plot will be changed, only slight (I hope!) grammatical errors.


amber-rules: Thanks! Stay tuned, okay?

Rushing! Rushing! School's killing me! Whee!!!

         The door opened as Jasper and Halyssa quickly broke off from the kiss. "Hey, Kyle." Jasper greeted the vampire, sounding a little out of breath. He felt himself blushing and gave a shy smile to Halyssa. But Kyle did not notice what the couple had been doing; he looked preoccupied in his own thoughts.

         Halyssa exited the room to make hot cocoa for them. Jasper sat up on the couch and said, "So, uh, how did things go in the Daybreak Center?"

         Kyle sighed deeply, something which he rarely did, and leaned back in the chair. Every moment in the Daybreak Center had been excruciating. He knew it would be bad, but he did not expect it to be so painful. One trip, and he had hurt so many of them. Even Russell, who used to take things in his stride. He had acted tough, acted like he really did not care about them and spoke terrible words to them. And yet everything hurt himself more than any others.

         "Apparently, I pissed everyone off. And no, Jade did not come with me, thankfully." He said after a while. Jasper pursed his lips, making him looked like a spoilt child. "I missed them," he said sadly.

         "Here," Halyssa came in with two cups of cocoa. "What about yourself?" Kyle asked. Halyssa beamed a smile, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine without the drink – as long as Jasper's here. Really," she continued as she stared deeply into Kyle's eyes, "Thank you. We can never hank you enough for all that you have done for us."

         Kyle slowly smiled. "It was the least I can do. I'm glad someone's happy at least."

Kyle Caldwin! Get your ass into my office right now! Mervyn's voice blasted in Kyle's head. Grimacing, he massaged his temples.

         "What's wrong?" Jasper asked, concern in his voice. Kyle realized with shock that he shared strikingly similar features with Jade, except his eyes were brown, like Paula's. Jade must have gotten those eyes from her father.

         Shaking his head, he rose from the seat. "I must get over to Blood Iris right now."

* * * * * *

         Jade flipped through the pages of the book impatiently. They were yellow with age, and dust floated in the air as she waved them away. She had already been in the Daybreak Library for six hours and she still had yet to find what she wanted to know.

         "Jade?" Russell's blond head appeared from behind a bookshelf.

         "Not so loud!" Jade hushed as he walked over to her table. Pulling out a chair, he asked, "What are you looking for?"

         Jade looked up from the thick book. "Russell? Will you be a sweetheart and help me go through these books?" She carried a whole stack of five similarly thick books from the chair beside her onto the table.

         Russell's eyes widened, "What? All of them?" He took one and browsed through it helplessly, before he realized that he did not know what to look out for, "So? What are we looking for exactly?"

         "Past records of the sources."

         "What for?"

         Jade pressed her lips together impatiently, "Well, I guess it will help if I know more about what I'm here for."

         Russell nodded. The two spent the next two hours in the library. "Let's go for dinner. I'm st-"

         "Got it! Jade! Got it!" Russell exclaimed excitedly, igniting hostile reactions from the readers nearby. He gave a sheepish look to them, before pushing the book to Jade. "There," he pointed.

         "Laury Sheller. 1804. Only child in Sheller Family and was the first source recorded." Jade read, loud enough only for Russell to hear. "Attempt to rescue failed as Daybreak Council located her later than Blood Iris did. Drained totally of powers and left dead."

         Jade sat back in her chair, then she decided to look at records of other sources. The list was grim; none of them were recorded as 'alive'. Most were dead, the others were missing.

         "Look, there's a definition of the Source here." Russell pointed.

The Source: A being with vast amount of powers from which to draw from. The Source is usually a Night Person and by draining its powers, life forces are drained too. Fear of the source falling into Blood Iris is due to the powers capable of unleashing severe catastrophe, when they get the Source. However, to drain the powers, a machine is used, as magic is deemed useless. Blood Iris has one such machine, and it is often improved upon with the newest technology. Daybreakers are unable to locate the machine, as yet.

         Russell let out his breath in a 'whoosh'. "You mean I'm just like a battery cell? Gosh. That made me feel so important." Jade said dryly.

* * * * * *

         "We're not ruling out the possibility that Kyle might be working as an undercover in Blood Iris." Skye said. He was in the café with Dermot and Paula.

         Paula waved a dismissive hand, "Definitely not. If he was, then would he have killed Jasper?"

         Scratching his chin, Dermot said thoughtfully, "Well, it could be necessary in order not to blow his cover…"

         "That is no silly excuse! My son is dead. Dead! Daybreak Council has always favored Kyle Caldwin, but it is time you see what a beast he is!" Paula said angrily, her hand almost knocking over the cup of hot coffee. Dermot put a hand on hers, hoping to calm her down. But Paula would have none of it, "If Jade hadn't been the source, none of this would have happened! The Night World destroyed my family. I wish we had nothing to do with any of you!"

         Dermot was understanding, "Paula, I'm truly sorry for all that had happened, really. Right now, there's nothing we can do, except to stand together and tide through this difficult time together."

         "Together, together you say." Paula spat bitterly, tears running freely from her brown eyes. "But who shoulders the consequences? The Finsters, us alone! Tide through this difficult time? How long exactly will 'this time' be? A year? A decade? Or until we die? How long exactly do we have to live our lives in constant fear and hiding?"

         Dermot was not surprised at Paula's outburst. No human had to go through what the Night World was like. They were not born to adapt to it. Besides, sacrifices took place. Of course, she felt unfair about the way things were going.

         "But soon it will be over. Soon." Dermot reassured the lady, staring into the pair of brown eyes that held abject sadness in them.

* * * * * *

What will happen next? Don't forget to stay tuned to the next episode of The Source, where twists and turns are just part and parcel of their lives!